


We’re Both Damned Already, Darling

by duchessofthemoonbase



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Banter, F/M, Pirate Ships Floating in Space!, Smut, Space Pirates, enemies to fwb to lovers, mild violence, sexual tension swordfighting, typical bodice-rippy duchess nonsense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duchessofthemoonbase/pseuds/duchessofthemoonbase
Summary: Captain Rey Skywalker is feared throughout the galaxy, and is as cunning with her words as she is with her sword. Absolutely nothing can shake her……Except for one Captain Poe Dameron, the Scoundrel of Scarif himself….As Rey continues to encounter him in her adventures across the galaxy, she realizes that there's more to her arch-nemesis than she had originally thought—and that she might feel something more than hatred for him, after all.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Comments: 123
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Woo! More Space Pirates!
> 
> I've added the text of my oneshot "Oh, Captain, My Captain", to the beginning of Chapter 1 to make things more cohesive. If you've already read it, you can skip to: "Two Months Later".
> 
> *If you would like to skip smut:
> 
> Skip from: "Rey moved over to the other side"
> 
> To: “Leaving so soon?” she asked.

Rey stood at the bow of the _Scavenger_ and looked out across the depths of space with her telescope. The night was a maddening swirl of blue and purple, and the stars winked and flickered around her in excitement, as if congratulating her on her latest victory. The universe was with her today.

“Captain Skywalker,” said Finn, her first mate, as he approached her. “Enjoying a moment of peace?”

“Yes,” Rey answered with a smile. “I think we’ve earned it.”

It had been a good couple of weeks for her crew. They had run off with the treasures of three First Order ships, their loot now stashed in the hold and ready to divvy up among her loyal crew.

“ _You’ve_ earned it,” Finn said. “You had to have taken out at least half of the pirates on that ship. You don’t have a reputation as the most feared swordswoman in the galaxy for nothing.”

Rey smirked as she touched the citrine-bejeweled sword that rested at her hip. “I suppose not,” she said. She always stood tall in her knee-high brown boots, tricorn hats, and long, double-breasted silk coats in a rainbow of colors. She was in charge of this part of the galaxy, and maker help anyone who forgot it.

“Anyways,” Finn said. “I hate to break bad news after we’ve had all this good luck, but um…”

“But um, _what?”_

“We’ve gotten some communications…and…he’s close.”

Rey bit her lip and looked out into the depths. “Is he?”

Finn sighed in concern. “We could run into _Black One_ any day now. We need to be prepared.”

“Very well,” Rey said, scoffing and snapping her telescope closed. “He’s an unsavory rogue and one day he’ll get what’s coming to him.”

“Certainly,” Finn agreed, and left his Captain to stew alone in her rage.

***

Rose Tico, the newest member of the crew, looked up from her book when she saw the rest of her crewmates whispering in excitement below deck.

“Is it true?” Kaydel Connix asked Finn. “Is _Black One_ really nearby?”

“It looks like it,” Finn said, and then looked over the crew with a serious look in his eyes. “It’s in your best interest not to bother the Captain right now. You know how vexed she gets whenever he’s around.”

“Whenever who’s around?” Rose asked, and the crew looked at her in disbelief.

“Captain Dameron, of course,” Kaydel said, excitement shining in her eyes. “The Scoundrel of Scarif, the Devil of Dagobah…he’s the most dangerous pirate out there.”

“Really?” Rose asked. “I thought Rey Skywalker was the most dangerous pirate in the galaxy…I mean, we all saw what she did with her sword yesterday.”

“Well,” Kaydel said. “It’s one of the pair of them, anyway. That’s why they hate each other so much. Our two ships are getting more loot than the rest of them combined.”

Finn sighed. “Every so often we run into _Black One,_ and every single time, the two Captains have a confrontation. Or one of them nearly kills the other.”

Rose looked puzzled. “Can’t they just avoid each other? Why can’t we just pass each other’s ships?”

“They usually go back to the Captain’s office and make some sort of deal. Divide up territory….that sort of thing,” Finn said. “Makes it easier for all of us if we set a few ground rules. But we’ve spent a great deal of time and resources fighting off _Black One_ and their crew—there’s been many a time when we’ve raided a First Order ship only to find it’s already been ransacked by Dameron and his crew of degenerates.”

“Huh,” Rose said. “I had no idea.”

“Whatever you do,” Kaydel added. “Don’t engage with Captain Dameron when he’s on board, or our own Captain anytime soon unless you absolutely have to. She’s always been a dangerous person, but something about having that horrendous man onboard makes her even more vicious.”

***

A few days later, Rey is sitting in her office writing a report when Finn comes in. She was wearing a scarlet silk coat today with her hair tied back, and she looked as fierce as ever—fiercer, even. She pressed her quill down on the parchment with a severity that made Finn nervous to even speak.

“Captain?” Finn said. “They’re approaching.”

“Thank you,” Rey said, standing up and brushing the tails of her coat behind her. “Not to worry.” She took a deep breath and steadied herself, menace growing in her eyes. “I’ll deal with him.”

Rey walked up to the deck, and sure enough, the looming black and orange mass of _Black One_ was hovering just across from the _Scavenger._ She was considering ordering her crew to go below decks, but it was too late. They’d stay up here and watch as she confronted him.

She just hoped she wouldn’t embarrass herself.

***

Rey stood at the edge of her ship, looking over at the crew of _Black One_ expectantly. They waited nervously, as did her own crew, for their Captain to appear.

The silence was broken by the sound of a large wooden board falling onto the space between the two ships, hitting the edge with a loud crack. Rey took this as an invitation to step onto the platform; and so there she waited, hovering over the endless expanse of space and stars below.

Seconds later, a pair of tall, black boots stepped up to meet her, and Rey once again found herself face to face with Captain Poe Dameron. He was dressed in tight brown pants and a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show his tanned forearms. His own gold sword hung on the right side of his waist.

“Well,” Rey said, scoffing in distaste as she appraised him with her eyes. “If it isn’t the Scoundrel of Scarif himself.”

Poe stood up and chuckled, swaggering across the platform. “As always, my reputation precedes me,” he teased, looking her up and down. “As does yours, _Captain Skywalker._ I’ve heard all about your battle with Kylo Ren since last time we saw each other. Wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of your sword, now would I? _”_

Rey pulled her sword out of its sheath, keeping it ready in her hand. “You’re going to be if you keep acting this insufferable.”

“Me? Insufferable?” Poe countered, pulling his own sword out and winking at her. “Never.”

Rey suddenly noticed both of their crews watching them with great interest, and felt her face flush.

“What is it, Captain?” Poe said, feigning a look of horror. “You’re not…you’re not afraid that there’s something I would _tell_ them, is there?”

Rey clenched her teeth and stomped up to him, so they both stood in the middle of the platform. “I will run you through with this sword, Captain Dameron. I won’t hesitate to.”

“Nah. You’d miss me,” Poe said, raising an eyebrow cheekily. “Besides, I’m your only worthy opponent….you’d be so _bored."_

Rey took her sword and rested the tip of it over his heart. “I’ll do it.”

Poe jumped back and pushed her sword away with his own. “I’d like to see you try, Captain.”

Rey was at him a second later, her sword barely missing his right side as he swerved to avoid her hit, bringing his sword up to meet hers a second later. They clashed their weapons together again and again, unbothered by the fact that only a wooden board stood between them and an endless fall through space. Rey fought with grace and agility, her face frozen in deep concentration as her boots leapt from one side of the platform to the other. Captain Dameron returned her thrusts with skill and a slight smirk on his face.

All of sudden, Rey found herself tripping over her own feet and fell to the ground, looking up to see Captain Dameron’s sword hovering next to her neck.

“Oh dear,” he said, smiling. “The great Captain Skywalker, infamous swordslayer of Jakku, bested by…I’m sorry, what did you call me last time?”

“A common scoundrel,” Rey said, looking up at him with conviction.

“Yes. A common scoundrel. What a _pity.”_

Rey pushed the sword out of her face with her bare hands and stood up, glaring at Captain Dameron. “You know what you are? You’re difficult. Really difficult. You’re a difficult man.”

Poe laughed and shook his head. “And you are…you’re…”

“Lost for words for once, are you?”

They both looked up and remembered their respective crews were both on deck, watching their every move with careful silence.

Poe sighed and threw his sword back onto his own ship _,_ putting his hands up in a gesture of peace. “Let’s go to your office. We have to discuss how to divide up the Outer Rim territory.”

“Very well,” Rey said. She marched them both to her office below deck, and firmly shut the door.

***

“Anyway,” Rey said the second the door shut. “I was thinking that we could take the area between Mustafar and Yavin, and perhaps your crew could cover the territory between Tattooine and Geonosis. That way all of the—”

“Really, Rey? We’re not even going to talk about it?” Poe asked. He was leaning against the wall as Rey sat at her desk rifling through maps.

“ _As I was saying,”_ Rey said, taking on the composure of a royal diplomat as she carefully avoided his gaze. “The area around Naboo can be—”

“Let’s do it again.”

Rey sighed. “It was one time. I had a…moment of weakness.”

“A moment of _weakness_? In a woman like you? I don’t think so,“ Poe said. “I hardly seduced you. In fact, you were _very_ enthusiastic, if I recall correctly. Or shall we ask your desk?”

Rey felt a blush rise in her cheeks as she stood up to walk over and face him, his eyes darkening as she approached. “You’re an insult to the art of piracy. You’re a rogue, Captain Dameron. A good-for-nothing scoundrel.”

Poe grinned. “You like me because I’m a scoundrel,” he whispered, his lips hovering just above hers. “There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.”

“I happen to like nice men.”

“Well, I’m not a nice man,” Poe said. “But you like me anyway.”

Rey let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his dark curls, pulling him in closer and biting her lip in frustration. “I absolutely _loathe_ you,” Rey whispered with shuddering breath, her hand roaming up and down his chest.

Poe smiled. “ _I know,”_ he said, and then she kissed him, nearly hissing in pleasure at the glorious feeling of his lips finally moving against hers.

He flipped them around so Rey’s back was up against the wall, and she sighed as he ran rough and calloused hands teasingly across her body. “Are you sure about this, _Captain?”_ he asked her.

Rey groaned and pulled him closer. “Unfortunately, yes. Now get on with it.”

Poe smirked. “Are you this bossy with your crew?”

“No. Just you, Dameron.” She shucked her scarlet jacket onto the floor. “Now be a gentleman and do what you’ve been told.”

Poe laughed as he pressed Rey against the wall and pressed sucking kisses onto her neck and collarbone; and then unbuttoned her blouse so he could kiss the swells of her breasts. “Me. A gentleman,” he said with a smirk. “What an _idea_.”

Rey sighed, grabbing onto his shoulders as he hoisted her up and helped her remove the rest of her clothes. “Do you think our crews would stage a mutiny if they knew we were doing this?” Rey said, sighing as she watched Poe undo his belt.

“Oh certainly,” Poe said, chuckling as he pressed against her. “There’s no one my crew hates more than the fearsome Captain Skywalker…” he said, Rey letting out a sigh as he finally reached down to touch her with teasing strokes. “Of course, they have no idea how pretty you look like this…”

“ _Please,_ Captain,” Rey said.

Poe smirked. “Are you going to a apologize for calling me a scoundrel? A Devil? A menace to the galaxy?”

“Never,” Rey said, grinning and raising an eyebrow at him.

“Good,” Poe said, finally giving her what she wanted. “ _Because I am all of those things.”_

***

Exactly five Sabacc games later, Rose saw the captains of the _Scavenger_ and _Black One_ emerge from below the ship and walk up to the deck. They both looked red-faced and out of breath, and she figured it had probably taken a lot of arguing to figure out the new territory negotiations.

The two captains hovered near where she and Kaydel were set up with their cards, and she listened carefully as they said their goodbyes.

“I wish you luck with the territory near Tattoine, Captain Dameron,” Captain Skywalker said. “My own crew has not found that area to be very profitable nor easy to navigate.”

“Sometimes it’s the captain and the crew and not the territory, Captain Skywalker,” Dameron said, and Rose saw her own captain clench her teeth together at the remark. “I’ll have to let you know how it goes. And thank you again for being so generous in the negotiations today. I hope you left the meeting…satisfied of your needs.”

“Could have been better,” Captain Skywalker snapped in reply, and Captain Dameron laughed, reaching out to shake her hand for what Rose felt was a moment too long, his eyes dark as he looked at her—not with the menace of the stories they told about him, but with something else. Something warm.

Something kind.

**Two Months Later**

Kaydel Connix stood on top of her chair, swaying slightly with drink as she held up her tankard of beer. “We’ve done it!” she shouted, and the rest of the crew erupted into cheers. “We’ve reached the Cave of Ahch-To before any other ship, and tomorrow our very own Captain will walk within to retrieve the infamous Ahch-To ruby diadem!”

“And we’ll be rich!” Rose shouted.

“And we’ll be _filthy_ rich!” Kaydel shrieked, and the entire crew cheered. “Rumor has it the diadem holds some of the largest rubies in the world, all of them circled by diamonds, and—”

“Don’t get too excited yet,” Finn said, always the voice of reason. “The diadem is still just a legend. It might not even be in there.”

“He’s right,” Captain Rey Skywalker said, and shrugged.

“Ah, whatever,” Kaydel said, letting someone refill her drink. “Either way, we still reached the cave before _Black One_ did.”

“Hell yes we did,” Finn said, shrugging. "They were just too slow again."

Kaydel sat back down and put her feet up on the table. “I’d do anything to kill that wretched Captain Dameron. One day we’ll keelhaul the bastard, don’t you worry.”

Rey bit her lip and looked down, hoping nothing showed on her face. Her mind went back to the last time she’d seen him in her office, the roughness of his stubble against her neck, muffling her cries of pleasure as he took her against the—

“Captain?” Kaydel asked. “Did you hear my question?”

“What?”

“We can keelhaul him if we capture him, right?”

Rey swallowed nervously. “I think we should cross that bridge when we come to it, don’t you think?”

***

The crew of _The Scavenger_ looked at Rey admiringly as she emerged from below deck. She wore her aqua-colored silk coat and her usual tall boots, her brown hair slung in a low ponytail. As much as she loved her crew, it was traditional for the Captain to go alone on a mission such as this—she would venture inside the cave, retrieve the diadem, and then they’d be off, sailing their ship back up to the stars. They had landed the ship on the beach near the mouth of the cave, where the crew planned to entertain themselves with swimming and a fish fry while Rey retrieved the diadem.

“Best of luck, Captain,” Finn said, and Rey saluted him as she lit a torch and walked toward the entrance of the cave.

She wandered inside, holding up the light as she examined the ground, finding little besides rats and the skeletons of a few people who she assumed had not died peaceful deaths.

Rey turned a corner, her eye catching what looked like a wooden chest wedged behind some rocks. She used her knife to cut the leather straps securing it, straining to move the lid that probably hadn’t been lifted in decades. When she finally budged it open, she could hardly believe her eyes.

The diadem rested inside, even more beautiful, even more valuable than Kaydel had described it in her drunken fantasies. It was made of pure gold, with five huge rubies spread across the crown, all of them surrounded by diamonds. The money they could get from this would be unimaginable. And all she’d had to do was walk in and collect it!

Rey smirked to herself, lifting out the diadem and placing it in her leather satchel. Too easy.

As she stood in the dim light of the cave contemplating her victory, she realized that she could hear water running in the distance. Ever the explorer, she decided to venture further into the cave, following the sound until she saw another source of light glowing in the distance.

Was someone else here?

Rey walked on farther, shocked to see another torch propped up on the wall. When she turned the next corner, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a bubbling hot spring—and the bare, strong shoulders of a man lounging in it.

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” he said, suddenly turning around to face her. “Can’t a man take a bath in peace?”

Rey stood up taller, walking over to face him. “I suppose not.”

Captain Dameron smiled, putting his arms behind his head and leaning farther back. His clothes were in a haphazard pile on the ground next to him. “How’s business?”

“Fine.”

“Really?” Poe asked, and Rey tried her best not to look below his eyes. “You seem a little wound up, sweetheart. If it makes you feel better, I couldn’t find that damn tiara in here either.”

“Well that’s a relief,” Rey said, clutching her satchel tighter.

“The water’s lovely, you know,” he said, staring at her invitingly and tracing his fingertips across the rock. “Why don’t you come in? You can’t get a hot bath like this on a ship.”

She took her silk coat off her shoulders, strengthening her resolve. “I suppose,” she said, toeing off her boots indifferently. “Just for a bath, you know.”

“Of course.”

Rey turned away and slowly peeled off the rest of her clothes, confident in the knowledge that her rival captain was watching, his gaze burning into her form. When she turned around he was grinning like a thief, watching as she slipped into the hot spring, everything below her shoulders now covered again by the warm water.

“This is nice,” she said.

“I told you,” Poe replied, and he sighed contentedly, the muscles of his chest moving golden under the torchlight. “The water’s _divine._ ”

Rey smiled, sinking deeper into the water and rubbing her neck.

“Does your neck hurt?”

“A bit.”

“Let me.”

Rey moved over to the other side of the spring and waited as Poe started to rub soothing circles into the back of her neck and shoulders. “How’s that?”

“Mmm…” Rey sighed. “Better.”

“More?”

“More.”

Poe massaged her neck deeper, rubbing a hard pattern into a particularly tense part of her back.

“Oh!” Rey gasped. “ _Yes.”_

“Hmm,” Poe said, and she could practically hear him smirking. “Where have I heard those pretty little noises before?”

Rey leaned her back against his chest, sighing as he leaned in to press teasing kisses against her neck. “I don’t know.”

“I think you do.”

She smiled. “I have no idea what you mean.”

Poe reached forward, moving his hands over her stomach and up to squeeze her breasts, tracing over her nipples with calloused fingers. “ _Tell me,”_ he whispered. _“_ Tell me or I’ll stop touching you. _”_

“On _The Scavenger._ In my office.”

“Where?”

“First on the desk,” she said, gasping as his fingers dipped below her waist to touch her. “And then—”

“And then?”

“Against the wall.”

“Mmm,” Poe said, clutching her tighter, and Rey could feel his naked hardness pressing up against her back. “We’re so lucky no one heard us.”

“They’d kill us.”

“Terribly. Violently. _Horrifically._ ”

Rey turned around to face him, wrapping her legs around his waist under the water as she moved her hands teasingly through his curls. She kissed him roughly, sinking onto his length as he stuttered out a groan. Then she sat still, looking around the cave as Poe stared at her expectantly.

“Are you going to move?”

“Not yet,” Rey said. “I’d rather like to hear you beg me for it, Captain Dameron.”

“You absolute—”

“ _Beg me.”_

“No.”

Rey moved up and down once and he hissed through his teeth. “I’m not going to tell you twice,” she said.

“ _Please.”_

“Please, _who?”_

Rey ran her fingers through his curls, pulling on them roughly in the way she already knew he liked. “Please, Captain Skywalker,” he groaned.

“There we go,” Rey teased, sinking up and down on him a few times. “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Poe moaned as she rode him faster, his hands caressing her back as he buried his face into her neck, his hips thrusting up to meet her. From there it was frantic and desperate, both of them spurred on by the sounds of their moans and the splashing water echoing off the walls of the cave.

Rey threw her head back and gasped as Poe started to circle her clit with his fingers, her climax approaching as she felt him hit a new and extremely satisfying angle.

—and then he stopped.

Rey furrowed her brows. “Excuse me?”

Poe grinned in a way that Rey found so simultaneously charming and obnoxious that she could have slapped him. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’d rather like to hear you beg, Captain Skywalker.”

“Never.”

Poe reached down to touch her again and she gasped. “You’re so _close,_ Captain, it would be such a _shame_ if you didn’t—”

“I hate you.”

“I know. Now beg me.”

“Absolutely not.”

He began to press sucking kisses into her collarbone and she groaned. “Please, Poe,” she gasped, and felt him smile against her neck.

“There we are,” he said, starting back up again, continuing his thrusts and ministrations until she came with a sharp gasp, Poe following with a stuttered groan of pleasure soon after.

Rey slipped off of him, leaning back into the warm water, sated and sleepy as she rested her head against the rock. She closed her eyes, sighing as she heard Poe stepping out of the spring. He was quickly pulling his clothes back on.

“Leaving so soon?” she asked.

“Why?” Poe snarked, pulling his white shirt over his head. “You wanted to cuddle?”

“Not in the least,” Rey said, rolling her eyes. She was so at peace that she hardly noticed Poe’s hand reaching into her bag.

“Ah,” he said, lifting up the diadem and examining it. “Looks like someone _did_ find the Ahch-To diadem after all.”

“Give it back!” Rey shouted, jumping out of the springs and reaching for her knife, but it was gone. Poe held it in his hands along with his own sword and the diadem.

“Oh dear,” Captain Dameron laughed. “Were you distracted by something, perhaps?”

Rey grimaced, knowing there was no way she could retrieve the diadem without a weapon. She watched in disgust as Poe gently placed the crown atop his head.

“So,” he said, twirling in a circle. “How do I look? Dashing?”

“Damn you,” Rey said.

“We’re both damned already, darling,” Poe said, walking backwards and smiling at her until he was out sight, disappearing into the other side of the cave.

***

Rey found her crew waiting for her on the beach, watching her with worried expressions.

“We saw _Black One_ arrive shortly after we did,” Rose said, “We didn’t know if there was another entrance to the cave or not, we’re hoping that—”

“Did you get it?” Kaydel interrupted.

“Um, no,” Rey said. “Captain Dameron beat me to it, I’m afraid.”

The crew groaned, and Finn looked at her sympathetically.

“We’ll get rid of him eventually,” Finn said, patting her on the shoulder. “You can count on it.”

Rey smiled nervously. “Thanks.”

Finn sat down next to her on the beach as the rest of the crew went to put out the bonfire. “Rey,” he said, looking at the empty scabbard on her belt. “Where’s your knife? Did you fight him?”

“Um, no,” Rey said, her stomach twisting with guilt from lying to her best friend. “I dropped it somewhere, is all. It was dark.”

“Okay,” Finn said, and she noticed he was glancing at her hair, which was now wet and no longer tied in a neat ponytail. “I worry you’re taking on too much, sometimes, you know?”

“I know,” Rey said, resting her chin on her knees. She thought of the infuriating way Captain Dameron had smirked at her as he’d left the cave and she seethed with fury. She was rather angry that he’d snatched the diadem from her, of course, but that wasn’t what was causing the rage currently burning through her veins.

What enraged her was the warm, swooping feeling in the pit of her stomach, the one that appeared every time he smiled roguishly at her, a feeling that only seemed to grow every time she encountered him.

Rey stood up and brushed the sand from her silk coat. She had bested every obstacle she’d faced so far, and this wouldn’t be any different: If Poe Dameron thought he could beat her just because he’d made her weak in the knees a couple of times, he had a big surprise coming.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole chapter is kind of sexy, but the real smutty bit starts at around 
> 
> “Good,” Rey said, and used the end of her sword to cut the ropes one by one" and goes to 
> 
> "Sure, darling,” Captain Dameron said."
> 
> This has also been upped to E, and I blame Pirate!Poe entirely.

Rey made her way back towards where the _Scavenger_ was docked, her arms full of the day’s shopping as she wove through the streets of Bonadan’s busy marketplace. Twilight was just settling in, and she smiled at her haul for the day—sugar, dried meat, berries, a box of nails, and…a little something for herself.

The little something for herself was a tiny nightgown made of scarlet silk and black lace, purchased from a shop that she knew was usually frequented by those with unsavory reputations. She didn’t even know when she would wear it, but once she saw it, she couldn’t resist. Something about it drew her in.

Although Rey preferred the days when their ship was afloat among the stars, she cherished their days visiting on planets too—besides, if they couldn’t spend the riches they spent their time obtaining, what was the point?

Well, that was what her crew always said, but Rey thought differently—she had enough money to buy a mansion on this planet and lounge her life away if she wanted, but she could never do such a thing—she wouldn’t give up her life of adventure in the skies for all the world.

As she made her way down to the shore, she saw Finn standing silently on the deck of the _Scavenger_ , waiting nervously.

She had a bad feeling about this.

“Hey,” Rey said, putting her shopping down. “What’s wrong?”

“Um,” Finn said. “You remember how just yesterday we were talking about Kaydel…”

“About how she’s impulsive and might be our doom if we don’t get her under control?”

“Yes.”

Rey sighed, covering her face in preparation. “What did she do this time?”

Before Finn could answer, Kaydel climbed the ladder to the upper deck with a massive grin on her face. “Good evening, Captain Skywalker,” she practically sang, barely containing her excitement. She turned toward Finn. “Did you tell her?”

Finn looked out to the sea, refusing to meet her face. “I figured I’d let you do the honors.”

Kaydel grabbed Rey by the hand and led her to the closed door of one of the empty cabins below deck. “Oh have I got a surprise for you.”

“Ah,” Rey said, wondering if Kaydel had a sea monster trapped behind the door. “Well, let’s see then.”

Kaydel opened the door, and Rey nearly jumped back at the sight before her.

It was Captain Dameron, sitting restrained in the corner, his hands bound above his head and his feet tied to the wooden chair he was sitting in. Clearly, it had taken a lot to capture him, as various cuts were scattered across his face and body, some of them staining his white shirt with red.

He smirked like the devil. “Hello, Captain.”

Rey stood up taller, hoping that the high boots and the deep ocean color of the silk coat she wore today would make her appear more imposing. “Captain.”

Kaydel was still waiting for praise in the corner, grinning in victory. “I captured him,” she gloated. “Took awhile, but we won’t have to deal with him anymore. I saved the honor of the execution for you, of course,” she said, turning to Rey.

Poe grinned at her. “An execution?” he teased, feigning excitement. “What exactly are you going to do to me, Captain Skywalker?”

Rey took a deep breath, trying to keep herself in check in front of Connix. “I haven’t decided yet,” she said coldly. “But certainly something that befits the nature of your crimes.”

“Considering he somehow reached the Ahch-To Diadem before you did Captain, I think we should make it _especially_ cruel,” Kaydel said.

Poe laughed. “ _That’s_ what she told you? That I reached the diadem before she did? I would never take the credit for a such a lie. Your _dear_ Captain got to it far before me, I assure you.”

“What?” Kaydel said.

“She had it first. I just stole it from her.”

Rey glared at him, her face flushing.

Kaydel turned to her, puzzled. “So…he bested you in a swordfight, then?”

Poe chuckled darkly. “As weak as she is when it comes to…my _sword—_ when it came to the Ahch-To Diadem, I simply had to pluck it out of her bag.”

“He’s lying,” Rey said, seething with anger and turning to Kaydel. “Leave us alone for a minute, if you please.”

“Of course, Captain,” she said, going up the stairs, and they both listened out for the sound of the door shutting closed behind her.

“Well, well, well,” Rey said, leaning over him. “Looks like I’ve got the upper hand this time.”

“No you don’t,” Captain Dameron said, smirking at her lasciviously. “You may have me tied up, but I have a secret that could break the entire crew of the _Scavenger_ into a mutiny if it got out.”

“They’d never believe you.”

“They wouldn’t?”

“No,” Rey said, standing proudly over him. “They think too highly of me.”

He just laughed again. “Wouldn’t they love to know how their precious, noble Captain loves to be fucked and pleasured by their very worst enemy…what a _riot_ that would start.”

Rey pulled her sword out of its holster and held it up. “One more word, and you’ll regret it, Dameron.”

He smiled, offering a challenge. “Oh would I?”

She thrust the sword against his throat, close enough to dent the outside of his skin. “You tell anyone, I’ll slit your throat.”

He smiled up at her roguishly; the blood on his face and the days of stubble somehow only making him look more dashing. “That would be an absolute mercy compared to the sorts of things that Kaydel girl wants you to do to me.”

Rey lifted her sword to his chin, turning his head up towards her. “Keep your mouth shut, and don’t test me.”

“Very well, sweetheart,” he said, smiling at her as she walked up the stairs. “And don’t forget, I’ll be right here.”

***

Dinner that night felt more like a party (with Kaydel leading the festivities) everyone pouring wine and passing around the various goodies they’d purchased during their days in Bonadan. Rose was leading the rest of the crew in a song, and the mood was high as the ship floated above the sea, the lights of the Bonadan marketplace shimmering down below them in the distance.

However, Rey wasn’t quite with them as far as the partying went. All she could think about was Captain Dameron, tied up below deck, that twisted smile of his…

“Enough singing, enough!” Kaydel shouted, and everyone quieted down. “We have an important decision to make tonight, ladies and gentlemen.”

Rey grimaced. Finn was right—she was getting a bit too big for her boots.

“Tonight is the night,” Kaydel announced. “That we decide how the wretched Captain Dameron is going to die.”

A few people broke out into cheers, and the rest of them sat in silence. Although as pirates most of her crew was okay with wandering into morally gray areas from time to time; very few of them savored an execution quite the way Kaydel did.

“I still vote we keelhaul him,” someone said. “Although I’m still not exactly clear as to how that works in outer space.”

“It’s very simple,” Kaydel said, brushing off the question like an expert. “The victim is strung up behind the ship, as in the traditional manner, and the torture comes from asteroids and space debris—the stuff the main part of our ship is protected from by a forcefield. Eventually enough of the rocks will hit him that he’ll bleed to death—and if we’re lucky, very slowly.”

Rey shifted in her seat, looking down at her food.

“We need to be more careful,” Finn said, looking at Rey and sensing her distress. “We might be facing retribution already for kidnapping Dameron, and maker knows what the crew of _Black One_ would do to us if they found out we killed him, especially in such a cruel way.”

“He’s got a point,” Rose added. “Those _Black One_ pirates aren’t ones to let us get away with that…Snap, Karé, Suralinda? They’re a force to be reckoned with by themselves.”

“Exactly,” Finn said, glaring at Kaydel. “We can’t go around kidnapping dangerous pirates just because the chance presents itself. These things have serious consequences, and now we’re all potentially in danger.” He shook his head angrily. “Kaydel, you should have asked me or the Captain before you brought that man aboard. What if he escaped and killed everyone? Did you even think about what could have happened? Or are you so hell-bent on revenge that you—”

Kaydel rolled her eyes. “Well I got him, didn’t I? Not even Captain Skywalker has been able to manage that.”

Rose stood up. “Don’t disrespect the Captain like that.”

“Sorry,” she said, shrugging. “I just think you’re all being a little paranoid. We execute Dameron, _Black One_ disbands, and then we have double the territory; double the profit. It’s all in our hands now.”

Finn stood up and left the table, and Rose followed him, both of them glaring at Kaydel with tired eyes.

“What?” Kaydel said. “I got Dameron for you, didn’t I?” She turned to Rey, seeking her approval.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Rey said. She stood up and walked to the edge of the deck, looking out into the night—the dark ocean churning a hundred feet below, the lights of Bonadan, the galaxies swirling in azure and violet above…

She took the rest of her food down to her quarters below deck. She needed silence.

***

Rey lit the kerosene lamp next to her bed and looked at her pocket watch, which confirmed the worst of her suspicions.

It was three o’clock in the morning, and she still hadn’t fallen asleep.

She sighed, getting up to pace around the room in circles. She had gone to bed in her new nightgown (if you could even call it that, as it wasn’t very comfortable to sleep in) the deep red silk clinging tight to her body, the black lace teasing the tops of her thighs. She gazed at herself approvingly in the mirror. Well, it made _her_ feel hot, even if there was no one else to see it.

She laid back down in bed and tried again. There were simply too many thoughts racing through her head today for her to fall asleep. Kaydel Connix was becoming a major source of worry, and she wished she had listened to Finn’s warnings earlier about the trouble she was causing. Of course, she could always kick her off the crew, but she had a bad feeling that might make things worse.

Rey closed her eyes yet again, but all she could see was the way the Captain had smiled at her, threatening to tell her crew their little secret…

She thought back to their last rendezvous, the warm water washing over them as they made love in the—

No, Rey reminded herself. Not _made love…_ that was far too sentimental a term for whatever…well, whatever this was.

 _Was_. Past tense. Not to happen again. Too risky, especially with her entire crew here.

She turned her head in the direction of the empty room he was locked in and sighed. Was he awake too? Was he thinking of her? Wishing he could touch her? What if he had escaped? He was a clever bastard, that was for sure, and probably capable of escaping in the night.

She slipped out of bed and picked up the kerosene lamp. She may as well check. Just to be sure.

Rey covered her nightgown with a robe and crept down the hallway, looking around to make sure everyone was still asleep in their rooms. As far as she could tell, the coast was clear.

She opened the door and found Captain Dameron still there, tied to the chair and grinning at her. “I had a feeling I’d get a late night visit from you.”

“That’s not what I’m here for.”

“Oh really?”

“I came to check that you hadn’t escaped,” Rey said. “That’s all.”

He laughed. “Darling, we both know I could escape if I wanted. You really think that Connix girl could capture me if I didn’t want her to? There’s only one person at my level when it comes to swordfighting, and she’s standing before me now.”

“You let yourself get kidnapped?”

“Yes,” he crooned, and Rey wasn’t sure she believed him. “Only because I knew you’d never let your crew lay a finger on me when it came down to it. And I wanted to see your pretty face again, of course.”

She scoffed. “You have some insane ideas about who to trust.”

He grinned. “So do you.”

She slipped off the bathrobe, placing it on a chair, and relished at the sight of Poe’s eyes widening at her nightgown. “Are you teasing me, dear?” he whispered.

“Yes,” Rey said, smiling at him as she ran a hand up her leg. “Because I can.” She circled around the room, swinging her hips, stretching, sighing, running her hands across her body…

“You are such a filthy liar,” Poe said.

“I am?”

“You were lying in bed thinking of all the times I touched you, weren’t you? And then you just _had_ to check in on your poor little prisoner, huh?”

“No,” Rey said, sighing. “We’re not doing it again.”

He chuckled. “Oh really?”

“Yes,” she said, walking over to him with a haughty expression, and she lifted his chin up to look into his eyes again, his face still a little disheveled and bloody from his fight with Connix. “I need to look after my crew—and that doesn’t involve me and you being anything but sworn enemies—just as it always was.”

“Yes,” Captain Dameron said, looking up at her with a defiant glint in his eye. “Just how it was until I had you on your desk that one time…and then you kept coming back for more, didn’t you?”

“Please,” Rey said. “I could go down into the city right now and get the same from any man. Don’t be so flattered.”

“You’re lying, sweetheart.”

“You’re just upset that you’re tied up and helpless.”

“And you’re just upset that you’d have to untie me for me to touch you.”

Rey sighed, glancing down at where his pants were tented. She walked around the room, feeling him watch her as she ran her hands across her own skin, remembering how _good_ his hands had felt on her, how intense and blissful and incredible it was every time they touched each other.

These conversations had always been their foreplay—and she had been fooling herself to think it would ever just end there.

Rey took out her sword, her fingers gliding over the citrine jewels on the handle. “If I release you for a while, know there’s no escape. We’re floating above the city. You’d fall to your death.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, letting out a shuddering breath as she sauntered towards him with her sword in hand.

“Don’t try anything,” Rey said, tilting up his chin to her face one last time. “You’re outnumbered, and I can wake everyone in an instant. And when we’re done you’re getting tied right back up again, okay?”

“Understood.”

“Good,” Rey said, and used the end of her sword to cut the ropes one by one, drawing the process out as Captain Dameron stared at her with hungry eyes.

The second his hands were free he pulled Rey into his lap, wrapping his arms around her as they kissed each other desperately, Rey grinding onto the tenting in his pants as he laved at her neck. She moaned as he picked her up easily and carried her to the cot in the corner of the room, laying her down far more gently than she would have expected from a pirate.

“I better not regret cutting those ropes,” Rey said, sighing as Captain Dameron ran rough hands across the inside of her thighs, spreading her legs open.

“I promise you won’t,” he said, and Rey watched as his head disappeared beneath the hem of her nightgown, and she gasped when she felt him put his mouth on her.

She moaned softly, digging her fingers into his curls as he pleasured her, and started to wonder why she ever thought it was a bad idea to cut him free in the first place. Rey let out a gasp as his tongue began to work harder at her, and he stopped to look up at her with a smirk.

“Keep going,” she gasped, and Poe laughed.

“Begging the man you have prisoner? I would never have thought you’d stoop that low, Skywalker…although, it was clear when I looked down here _just how much_ you enjoyed teasing me.”

“Let it go, Captain,” Rey scolded, and he ducked back under her nightgown to continue his ministrations. She could feel him smiling against her every time he made her buck and moan and sigh, clearly enjoying how easily he could turn his nemesis into a desperate mess with only his tongue and the sound of his voice.

It infuriated her.

Rey felt her release wash over her a few minutes later, and she rolled her eyes as Captain Dameron sat up with a satisfied grin on his face. “Enjoy yourself?”

“I’ve had better.”

“All these lies again…” he teased with a smile, slotting his body over hers and kissing her deeply. Rey helped him pull off his white shirt and breeches, and then he was under the covers with her, both of them sighing as they laid together skin to skin, their hands exploring and stroking each other with eagerness, lost in each other’s warmth.

He kissed her deeply again, his hands running teasingly up and down her body as he ground against her, and then she realized.

He was going to make her ask for it.

Poe was sucking on her neck, making her groan, and she brought it up in the only way she could. “You should really get a move on, you know.”

“Really?” he said, looking up at her. “With what?”

“With fucking me.”

“Oh really, huh?” he asked, smirking. “So…you _want_ me to fuck you? You _like it_ when I fuck you?”

Rey rolled her eyes, wondering if there was a way out of his trap. “It is something that my body wants right now, yes.”

Poe rolled over, and she could see where he was straining underneath the sheet. “I don’t care what your body wants. I want to know what _you_ want, sweetheart.”

She pulled him closer. “I’d like it if you would hurry up and fuck me.”

He smiled. “Because you like it when I fuck you.” He moved teasingly over her entrance and laughed. “Say you like it when I fuck you. Say…say you like _me._ ”

“Fine. I like it when you fuck me.”

“Thatta girl,” he said, sinking in with a groan, Rey sighing with pleasure as he began to move. “Say it again.”

“I like it,” she said, moaning as he kissed at her neck.

“Oh, _yeah_ ,” he groaned, hitting a new angle that made her cry out, his hands running across her breasts. “Now say you like _me_.”

“Oh,” Rey gasped, lost in pleasure as he moved faster. “I like you, please, I really like you, I…please…”

“Mhm…be quiet, darling,” he smirked. “Wouldn’t want your crew to see you in such a state, now, would we?”

“I’m not in a—” Rey threw her head back as her second climax washed over her; and she sighed as she came down from it, relishing in the afterglow as Poe finished a few short thrusts later.

“Oh my,” Poe said. “You like me? How _interesting_.”

“I like your body and how you use it,” Rey said, slipping her nightgown back on and grabbing her sword. “I don’t like _you,_ it was just something I said in the moment.”

“Sure, darling,” Captain Dameron said, laughing as he watched Rey hold her sword up to him. She’d learned the hard way with him last time. “You get right back to business, don’t you?”

“Put your clothes on and sit back down in the chair.”

Surprisingly, he obeyed, without even a word of backtalk. Rey found some more rope in a cabinet and secured him to the chair, tying the knots just as Kaydel had. Then she made up the cot in the corner again, making sure the room looked just as it had been.

She looked over to Poe, looking sated in the corner, his face still bloodied from the fight.

“Hold on,” Rey said, sneaking out the door, and when she came back in she was carrying a towel and a pitcher of water.

Captain Dameron sat back in the chair, watching with wonder as Rey wet the towel and wiped it gently over his face, cleaning the blood and dirt off.

“You didn’t have to do this,” he said, more of an observation than a kindness. He stared up at her, and for the first time Rey really saw his eyes, the warm deep brown of them, and she felt lost. Not in a bad way—but the kind of lost she felt when she abandoned her compass, when she directed her ship out into the unknown reaches of space without a care.

“It’s okay,” she said, picking up the pitcher and towel and heading for the door. “It was nothing, really.”

She could see Poe smiling softly at her in the dark as she made her way back to her room.

He’d caught her in another lie.

No act of kindness was nothing, not for a pirate.

Especially for one who supposedly hated you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the lovely brightboisterousbananas (brightboisterousbananas.tumblr.com) for making me a FANTASTIC, swashbuckling set of moodboards for this story! Aren't they gorgeous??? <3

Rey woke up to the sound of feet pounding on the floorboards above her head; frenzied voices echoing off in the distance, and she immediately knew something was wrong.

She rushed to get dressed, pulling on her black silk coat, tall boots, and tricorn hat. If there really was some kind of crisis, she would need to exude total authority. She looked down at the red nightgown crumpled at her feet with a grimace— _well, her crew certainly shouldn’t see her in that._

The second she opened the door she saw Finn rushing towards her, a look of panic on his face.

“What is it?”

“It’s Dameron. He’s escaped.”

Rey bit her lip, trying to resist a smile. Of course he escaped. He was more clever than the rest of her crew combined—and at least now she wouldn’t have to worry about Kaydel trying to murder him.

“Do we know how he broke free?” Rey asked, her voice urgent. She had tied him up pretty well, but certainly not with the zeal and complicated knots that Kaydel had originally vied for.

“Well,” Finn said. “Kaydel took the liberty of—”

“She takes quite a lot of liberties these days, don’t you agree?”

He sighed. “Point is, she’s been examining the scene and apparently has some sort of theory as to how he got out.”

“What theory?”

“She hasn’t said yet. She’s calling everyone up on deck to explain now.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “We’re the only two people on this ship with the authority to call meetings. I don’t like this.”

“Let’s just hear her out, and we’ll figure out a way to deal with her attitude problem later,” Finn said. “For now, let’s just be thankful that Dameron didn’t hurt anyone when he broke out. It doesn’t even look like he stole anything, which is kind of suspicious in itself.”

Rey followed Finn up the ladder to the top deck, the harsh sunlight hurting her eyes as she emerged. The entire crew of _The Scavenger_ stood surrounding Kaydel, who sat smugly on top of an old barrel.

“Took you two long enough to show,” she said, examining her nails as if she was getting bored. “We have some serious business to discuss this morning.”

Rey walked into the middle of the circle, putting her hands on her waist and staring Kaydel down. “Don’t be so dramatic,” she said, hovering over her and turning to address her crew. “I don’t want anyone to panic. Captain Dameron escaped, yes, but no one’s been hurt and nothing’s been stolen. We can leave Bonadan and move on now.”

“No one’s been _hurt_?” Kaydel asked. “I haven’t told you the full story yet, Captain Skywalker.”

Rey felt her stomach turn as she saw Kaydel lift up a pile of ropes from the ground.

“I was the one who tied Dameron up first,” Kaydel explained, lifting up half of the rope pile and showing the crew the ends that had been sawed away by a knife. “This was the rope I tied him up with—and someone cut it away.” She lifted up the second pile of rope, which was a slightly different shade of brown and remained uncut. “This rope was found hanging from the edge of the boat this morning. So let me explain the chain of events, now, shall I?”

“Captain Dameron was secured when we all went to sleep,” Kaydel said. “Someone cut through the original ropes, and then tied him back up using this second rope. Dameron then managed to escape his bonds, using the second intact rope to climb closer to the water below, where he presumably jumped down and swam to shore. He’s probably terrorizing Bonadan as we speak.”

Finn stared at Kaydel with a dubious expression. “Are you really saying that someone on our own crew cut him free?”

“And then tied him back up?” Rose added. “If they were trying to help him escape, why didn’t they just…let him? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Rey felt her palms begin to sweat as Kaydel paced in a steady circle around the crew. “Oh,” she chuckled. “But it does.”

“Okay,” Finn said. “Explain.”

“I’m a light sleeper,” Kaydel said. “And my room is close to the one where the Captain was being held. And let me tell you, I heard some _fascinating_ noises coming from inside there last night.”

“What?”

“Oh yes,” she continued. “Plenty of sighs and moans and grunts and pretty little gasps…there was a woman in there, alright…”

Finn scoffed. “What the hell are you implying, Kaydel?”

“Someone on this ship was whoring around with Captain Dameron last night.” She laughed, tracing her fingertips over the hilt of her sword as she examined each female member of the crew in turn. “Someone had their merry little way with him and then did a lazy job tying him back up. I wonder which one of you is such an easy little _slut_ that you’d betray your entire crew and let him get away just for a good—”

“That’s ridiculous,” Rose interrupted. “You’re just being cruel. We’re all extremely loyal to Captain Skywalker on this ship. We respect her. No one here would do that.”

Rey looked down at her feet.

Kaydel sneered. “The lady doth protest too much, I think,” she said, grabbing Rose by the chin and lifting up her face. Rose glared up at her with contempt. “And where were you last night, little Rosie? Writhing underneath him?”

“That’s enough,” Rey snapped. “Stop it.”

“No,” Kaydel said, circling around Rose like a vulture. “It was her. I’m sure of it. We should make her walk the plank.” She snickered. “You can fall through deep space just like you fell into the enemy’s bed like a common—”

“ _It wasn’t me_ ,” Rose insisted. “I was with Finn all night. He can tell you.”

“Oh?” Kaydel said, as Finn nodded, and she stepped away from Rose. “Well that’s interesting. Cheers to the happy couple, I guess.” She stared down the rest of the women on deck, examining each one by one. “Well, it had to be one of you.”

“That’s it,” Rey said, stepping in-between Kaydel and the rest of her crew. “No more of this. I trust all of you. What happened was unfortunate, but we can move past it now. Going around accusing people of things won’t get us anywhere.”

“Maybe,” Kaydel countered. “But how do we keep going with the knowledge that someone here betrayed us? And that they could betray us again?”

“Well, that’s something we’re going to have to live with, I suppose,” Rey said. “But I am begging you to let this go. We can’t have everyone turning against each other. I don’t want to hear another word of it, and that’s final.”

“Very well, Captain,” Kaydel said, rolling her eyes like a petulant teenager, and Rey watched as she sauntered across deck with a small group following in her footsteps.

“She’s not going to stop, is she?” Rose asked.

Rey shook her head. She didn’t think so.

***

**Two Months Later**

Finn knocked on the door to her quarters, two cups of tea in his hands.

“Rey? Are you all right?”

She opened the door and let him in, gladly accepting the cup of tea as they sat down on her bed. She looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks—and she hadn’t.

“Not really,” she said. “I feel like I’m waiting for the floor to drop out from under me.”

“I can imagine,” Finn said, but she knew he couldn’t—not completely. The whole situation was even more complicated than he knew, and the guilt of keeping her secret away from her best friend and first mate had been eating away at her for months. “But Kaydel’s behavior can’t last forever,” he said. “She’ll get bored.”

The two months since Captain Dameron’s escape had been a nightmare. Kaydel had moved from one crew member to the next, building theories about why they were the one responsible for his escape. It was all behind Rey’s back, of course, but Rose kept Finn updated on the reign of terror she was inflicting on the crew. Rey noticed as one woman after the next became her target, the victim staying isolated, or getting drunk, or refusing to touch her food at dinner. Kaydel would hunt relentlessly until she found the culprit.

So much suffering, and it was all on her.

There were concerns about mutiny, whispers that kept both her and Finn awake and on edge. Kaydel had slowly but surely formed a small gang of associates who followed her everywhere—some of them probably joining up just to avoid becoming a target of her venomous accusations. Rose had let her know that Kaydel was sowing seeds of discontent among her friends, saying that Captain Skywalker wasn’t tough enough, that she wasn’t brutal enough to lead. She wouldn’t even let them investigate who the traitor was, after all. Tension was brewing, and Rey had a terrifying feeling that the consequences would come sooner rather than later.

Not a soul suspected her, of course, but she was constantly terrified of something clicking into place for someone, the truth coming out when she least expected it. If it got out that she was the woman who had visited Captain Dameron that night, Kaydel would have just cause to remove her from power—and all would be lost.

“We just have to take things one day at a time,” Finn said. “I’ve got your back, and so does the majority of the crew. She might not even make a move.”

Rey sighed, falling into Finn’s arms and starting to cry. It wasn’t the threat of mutiny that was getting at her—it was the guilt. Lying to her best friend even as she cried in his arms. The awful pain she felt at seeing a witch hunt conducted on her ship with no way to stop it; knowing that all of those girls were suffering because of _her._ Because of her stupid, stupid mistake. She had ruined everything.

—and a part of her wanted to ruin herself again.

***

So many dreams came during those awful weeks, heaven and hell, pleasure and pain, the light and the darkness, all spreading out before her in a horrifying display:

_Standing on deck; the sky the most brilliant blue it’s ever been. Her hands are at the wheel, and she steers the whole ship into a black hole. She watches as her friends are torn to shreds like spaghetti; scattered to distant galaxies. A handsome man chuckles somewhere, far away._

_Waking up in bed to Kaydel leaning over her, a knife at her throat, ready to take her ship, ready to steal it all away. She’s grinning like a demon, like she knew Rey had seen it coming all along._

_Meeting Captain Dameron in a back alley in Bonadan, cursing him and kissing him, kissing that stupid, stupid smirk off his face. Lifting her skirts up and letting him have her up against the wall, so lost in her pleasure that she doesn’t see Finn and Rose turn the corner and find them there. They glare at her with disgust and turn down the road. She knows they won’t come back._

_Lying in bed next to Captain Damer—next to Poe, their hands lazily interlaced together as they wake up to warm sunshine coming through the window. Her head is on his bare chest, and his fingers run through her hair as she listens to him breathe. They can be slow, here. There’s no one to catch them, no facade to maintain._

_“What if we had different lives?” Poe asks. “What if we weren’t pirates? Do you think we could wake up together the next morning? Do you think we could be friends?”_

_“You can’t say things like that,” Rey says._

_“Why not?”_

_“You just can’t.”_

Of all these visions that keep coming to her in the dead of night, it’s the last one that disturbs her the most.

***

“Are you sure this is going to be worth it!?” Finn shouted over the roar of the rain.

“Of course it will be!” Rey shouted back, struggling to push the steering wheel against the wind. They had recently received word that the biggest black market dealer on Kamino had left for an extended vacation, securing his loot with nothing more than a cheap metal lock. It would be an easy steal if there ever was one.

“Did you ever think that maybe the _reason_ this Hutt left his warehouse unattended is because he _KNEW_ that you’d have to be suicidal to fly into Kamino during rainy season!?”

“Well, he’s never met me,” Rey said, grinning as she steered the ship deeper into the tempest. “I can handle it, I promise.”

Finn was looking out into the storm with his telescope, frozen in his tracks. “Um…Rey? Looks like you’re not the only one getting cocky…”

She pulled out her own telescope and yanked it open, only to be met with the sight of _Black One_ descending towards Kamino’s surface. "Shit."

“They must have gotten the tip as well,” Finn said. “Maybe we should just let this one go. This storm is too dangerous for us to have to worry about fighting them off too.”

“No,” Rey said, snapping her telescope shut. “Approach them.”

Finn sighed, reluctantly steering towards the ship as Rey braced herself, watching with a smile as they inched closer and closer. She could see a man standing alone on deck—Dameron’s first mate, Snap Wexley. He watched in terror as their ship drew nearer. Not even hurricane winds and pouring rain could stop her now.

Rey threw down the wooden platform as soon as the ship was close enough, marching across even as the wind threatened to throw her to the planet’s surface below. She thought of these past few months—her crew turning against her, her nightmares, her guilt.

Her rage.

She jumped down onto the deck of _Black One_ and approached Snap with a wicked smile.

“Tell your _Captain_ ,” she said, pulling her sword out of its sheath. “That I don’t let my prisoners escape without punishment.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the Damerey Discord ladies for the love and support when I had really bad writer’s block this week and wanted to rip my hair out. <3 I LOVE YOU GUYS.
> 
> Thank you to supremequeenofthenerds for sharing a Pirates of the Caribbean lightsaber video which gave me the idea for the stormy swordfight! 
> 
> Note: I’ve added the original one-shot that started this whole thing to the beginning of Chapter 1 just because I felt like it made the story more cohesive, so if you haven’t read that, there’s an extra scene there!

Rey stood on the deck of _Black One,_ the rain pounding as she held up her sword, ready to take Snap Wexley down at a moment’s notice.

“Go on then,” she ordered, motioning to the ladder that led below deck. “Go fetch your Captain and tell him he’s due for his punishment—I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

Snap nodded, his eyes wide with terror as he backed down the stairs. Rey tried her best not to stumble, the ship careening through space as the wind tossed them. “Well, go on!” she shouted. “Get him!”

Rey waited, her sword tight in her grip as she realized that she had no idea what she was doing here or exactly what she was planning to do. She could just barely see Finn back on the _Scavenger_ through the blur of the rain, shouting at her to come back.

But it was too late. Whatever had been eating away at her insides these past few months was on Dameron: it all led back to him. And the only way to exorcise this demon was to face him head on. She didn’t much care for the consequences: she just needed him to know how much damage he’d caused her.

“Are you out of your mind!?”

Rey turned around to see Captain Dameron climbing up on deck, his eyes wide with shock. “You can’t be out here in this! Are you crazy?”

“Perhaps,” Rey said coldly, tilting her head at him. “But I wanted to have a word with you.”

“Okay. What then?”

Rey seethed, watching as the rain beat down on him, soaking his white shirt until it stuck to his chest, his black curls already drenched. She held out her sword, ready for the attack.

“You have no idea what I’ve had to suffer because of you.”

Captain Dameron stepped back, withdrawing his own sword and standing at the ready. “I escaped. So what? You couldn’t have expected me to stay there.”

“It’s not that. It’s Kaydel. She heard us—she’s on a witch hunt trying to find out who you were sleeping with that night.”

He chuckled to himself. “And I suppose they’d never expect their noble leader to be the one moaning in the enemy’s arms all night.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Rey said. “But it’s only a matter of time. If you hadn’t…”

“If I hadn’t what, sweetheart?” He smirked with amusement as Rey grimaced up at him, still furious. “All _I_ did was sit quietly in my chair. You were the one who couldn’t resist me.” He walked forward, stroking a single finger gently under her chin. “You did this to yourself…you bit into the apple of temptation and damned yourself all on your own.” He was practically crooning, gazing at her in a way that sent molten heat through her core. “Don’t go blaming me for your own _weakness_ …”

Rey jumped back, holding her sword at the ready. “I’m tired of you waltzing into my life all the time and causing trouble. It doesn’t amuse me anymore.”

Captain Dameron tightened his grip on his sword and laughed. “I think you’re in denial, Captain Skywalker.” He shrugged. “But if you really want to fight me over it…”

Rey didn’t hesitate, rushing forward at him with a vengeance, grimacing as Captain Dameron blocked one thrust after another. Their fighting styles were vastly different, and it was never more obvious than when they were up against each other. Rey fought with strength, brute force and quick movements, whereas Captain Dameron was a strategist, dancing around his opponent, his mind always three moves ahead.

The hurricane winds were still blowing at full force, the rain pelting down on them in heavy sheets as their swords clashed again and again. Rey grimaced as she swung her sword down at Captain Dameron with a fury that shocked them both. He blocked her move at the last second, staring up at her with wide eyes.

“You’re really trying to kill me this time, aren’t you?” he asked, something surprisingly soft in his eyes.

“Of course I am,” Rey said, making a sudden move and climbing up a rope to balance on the bottom of the mast, gripping onto the sail. “After years of you encroaching on my territory, stealing my riches, tormenting my crew with that ridiculous escape of yours…” She grinned. “Why wouldn’t I want you _dead_ , Captain?”

He was silent for a moment, looking away, and then suddenly he strengthened his resolve, climbing back up on the mast. “Very well then,” he said. “But if I beat you, right here, right now, you have to promise me a favor.”

She scoffed. “You’re not going to bed me again, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Not exactly what I had in mind,” he said. “Although, if you’re offering—”

Rey rolled her eyes. “Fine. But you won’t win. You’re going to be begging me for mercy by the time I’m through with you.”

“Alright,” he said, the two of them hanging on to the sail as the wind crashed around them. “ _Make me_.”

Rey slashed her sword against his, both of them hanging on by one arm as their weapons clashed together, the sound of scraping metal nearly drowned out by the roar of the rain. Poe pulled himself closer, and as the ship lurched sideways in the storm he found the opportunity to strike, pushing down Rey’s sword with his own until it fell out of her hand, clattering to the ground.

“Oh, _sweetheart_ ,” he said, suddenly pulling Rey against him. “Looks like you’re at my mercy now, after all.”

She panted, dizzy with exhaustion and the feeling of his body flush against her. “You’re not going to kill me?”

He smiled and lifted up his sword, tracing the tip gently over her skin, slowly dragging it down her cheek and over the soft lines of her neck. “I suppose I could...”

Rey’s breath caught in her throat as he gazed at her, his face just inches away from her own as they clung onto the massive sail, the storm drowning out the rest of the world.

“I won’t though,” he said, putting his sword aside. “I need you around.”

Rey looked amused. “And why is that?”

“Everyone else bores me to death.”

He looked up at her and smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and she knew he was telling the truth. “I still want that favor though,” he added. “There’s a heist I want to do on Coruscant in a fortnight’s time. I can’t do it alone and I need someone else who knows their way around a sword there to help me….we’d split whatever we walk out with, of course.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes.”

“And how do I know this isn’t some sort of trap?”

Poe stared back at her, that rare shy smile returning to his face. “I suppose you can’t,” he said. “But it might be fun.”

Rey sighed. “Fine.”

“Good,” he said. “The back entrance to the National Museum of Coruscant. Two weeks. At sundown.”

Rey watched as he hopped down from the mast and walked back down below deck, leaving her in a daze, walking back across the platform to the _Scavenger_ as the rain chilled her to the bone.

***

**Two Weeks Later**

Maybe she had been wrong to blame him, Rey thought as she stared out at Coruscant, watching the lights of the city turn on one by one as the sun faded.

It was so easy to hate your nemesis. It was much harder to hate your own crew—and even harder to hate yourself. Of course Rey had directed her anger at the one place she was accustomed to directing it.

Oh, she _hated_ that he was right.

But…why was she _guilty?_ She shouldn’t feel bad for attacking Captain Dameron with such a vengeance. That was what they were meant to do, after all. And he was the one who had the audacity to look so _offended_ when she had attacked him like that, as if that was anything out of the ordinary for them.

“Good evening, Captain Skywalker.”

Rey nearly jumped at the sound of Kaydel Connix’s voice, her coffee sploshing out of her cup. “Good evening,” she replied.

“You’ve been acting strange all day,” she noted, observing her carefully. “It’s like your mind is somewhere else.”

Rey shrugged. “I just hate Coruscant, that’s all. It’s…opulent and ridiculous.”

“There aren’t many pirates who hate those things.”

“I don’t do this for the money,” Rey said authoritatively, and with a hint of pride. “I do it for the thrill.”

“The thrill, huh?” Kaydel said. “Is that something you absolutely couldn’t live without? Like…if you settled down somewhere, would you drive yourself crazy missing it, you think?”

Rey paused, looking out across the sky. It was golden hour, and soon she would need to head into the city to meet up with Captain Dameron. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never considered leaving piracy—and I don’t think I ever will.”

“You know, a lot of people think an addiction like that will always lead to one’s downfall.”

Rey laughed and took another sip of coffee, ignoring the pit of dread that had settled in her stomach from hearing Kaydel so casually mention her demise.

“I’d rather be dead than bored,” she said, thinking of Captain Dameron waiting for her in the city below. “That I know for sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to split this chapter in two parts because it was like 5k words but oh boy oh boy Y’ALL ARE NOT READY FOR THE CORUSCANT HEIST.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely owe this chapter to the lovely kday for linking me to what is probably the best advertisement ever made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq2m_qKFA7A
> 
> If you would like to skip smut it goes from about:
> 
> “He slowly lifted up her hand”
> 
> To
> 
> “I know,” he gasped.

Rey walked into Coruscant as their one small sun sank in a pinkish haze above her head; darting around street corners until she saw the hulking mass of the National Museum in the distance. It was an enormous marble building, a labyrinth of wings and rooms containing the planet’s most valuable treasures. She grimaced—it certainly wouldn’t be easy to break into.

As she drew closer she was shocked to see that there was clearly some sort of important event going on. Couples were lined up on a carpet outside waiting to enter, laughing in ballgowns and suits as a Twi’lek passed out glasses of lavender-tinted champagne. What the hell was Captain Dameron planning?

Rey walked around to the back of the building and spotted him sitting next to a catering speeder in his usual loose white shirt, breeches, and tall boots. For once he was not clean-shaven, but had grown out a considerable beard in the weeks that had passed—a thick salt-and-pepper one that made him look even more the pirate than usual. In her ruby silk coat she might be allowed entrance, but him?

“You made it,” he said, standing up as she approached. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come.”

“We did make a deal, after all,” she sighed. “Although, why on earth you want to rob a museum on the night of some big event is completely beyond me.”

“Have a little faith in me, Skywalker,” he said. “We’re not waltzing in the front door. The main level is completely dedicated to the event, as are the entire museum staff. No one is going to be watching the basement. I got a friend who works security, and he says it’ll be as simple as taking what we want and leaving with it.”

“A friend?”

“Well, um, there may have been some blackmail involved, _but_ —”

Rey looked up at him skeptically as the noise of music and chatter echoed across the lawn. “Why do you need me to help, anyways?”

“Well,” Captain Dameron said. “I figure that if we _do_ get caught, one of us can fight the attackers off while the other carries the loot.”

She sighed, still not convinced. “Fine. I better not regret this.”

He grinned. “You won’t when you see what’s in there.”

They crept through the staff entrance in the back, Captain Dameron whispering to her as they wove their way through a series of damp and empty hallways. “The noise from the party upstairs is loud enough that no one should hear us,” he said, raising his voice as if to prove his point. “We’re headed to a room called the hall of mirrors—it was built to reflect the treasure inside so that Coruscant looks even more rich than it already is. Everything is behind glass, but it’s only ordinary glass that can be easily broken with a sword. We should go for small, valuable things that can be easily carried out, and nothing too delicate.”

Rey nodded, more confident in the plan as she watched Captain Dameron navigate the halls like an expert. Although she was just learning the details, he had clearly been thinking this through for a while.

They turned a corner and opened a vent near the floor, revealing a passageway that was just large enough for them to crawl through. After what felt like ten minutes of crawling on aching knees, they finally reached their destination, and Rey watched as Captain Dameron removed a series of screws with his knife and pushed the vent out.

Rey couldn’t helped but gasp as they emerged.

The hall of mirrors was truly a marvel, a massive rectangular room made even more enormous by the mirrors that covered nearly every surface, the walls and ceiling stretching on forever. Glass-enclosed cases on marble plinths were spread out across the room, each holding a different treasure. Just from here she could see vases and tiaras, necklaces and scepters, velvet robes and golden tassels—treasures that had belonged to richest and most powerful people in Coruscant’s history, glittering and ready for the taking.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Rey said, smiling with delight as she began to wander around the room.

Captain Dameron laughed as he broke open a case containing a pair of sapphire cufflinks with his sword, the glass shattering over the floor. “Take your time,” he said. “I’m quite confident we won’t be caught. The nice thing about a county as arrogant as Coruscant is that they’d never stoop to believe their treasures could be stolen by a few pirates right under their noses.”

Rey smiled and bashed her sword into a case to retrieve a small golden figurine encrusted with diamonds, carefully slipping it into her pocket. She glanced across the room at Captain Dameron, who looked fully at peace and confident as he inspected more of the cases. She was still surprised that he’d even asked her to come along. This was _serious_ loot—the kind that if sold or even just boasted about would boost a pirate’s reputation ten-fold. She didn’t quite buy his justification of needing a good swordsperson—he could have just as easily done this with Snap, had him carry the goods while he fought off any attackers. Why he’d want to share that kind of glory with her, she still didn’t know.

She heard him chuckle from across the room, and when she looked up she saw he was staring at a case mounted on the wall. After she walked over she saw that it contained two swords, twins of each other, with golden blades and handles covered in swirling designs dotted with emeralds. They were stunning.

“Well,” he said. “One a piece?”

Rey smiled and smashed the glass. “Sounds fair.”

They both reached in to grab the swords, testing them in their grip, when they both looked up at the same time, their eyes meeting.

Poe smiled. “Even when we’re getting along it always comes to this, doesn’t it?”

Rey raised her eyebrow. “I suppose it does.”

“For practice,” Poe whispered, stepping forward to brush the edge of his sword against hers. “What do you say?”

Rey shucked off her jacket, revealing a billowing white blouse underneath. “I’m never one to back down from a challenge.”

“Very well,” he replied. “Show me what you’re made of, Skywalker.”

Rey lunged forward, trying to hit Captain Dameron from the side, only to have him block her hits again and again. She smiled to herself. He thought he was winning, but there was only so far he could maneuver away from her thrusts—sooner or later he’d be—

“Oh dear,” Rey quipped as Poe’s back hit the mirrored wall behind him with a loud thud. “It seems I have you cornered.”

“Not quite yet,” he answered, bringing his sword back up. But Rey was faster, deftly moving her sword under his and striking, slicing the front of his shirt open.

Captain Dameron chuckled. “You never ruin a man’s favorite shirt, darling,” he said, pulling the remnants of the white fabric away, and Rey tried her best not to stare at his bare chest as they walked to the center of the room, preparing to battle again. “You’re going to have to pay for that…”

“I’d like to see you try, Dameron.”

They rushed towards each other other again, finding a pleasant rhythm as their swords clashed, the music echoing across the room like a drumbeat. They could see themselves reflected in the room’s mirrors, a hundred surfaces on the walls and ceiling displaying their dance. It was a sight to behold.

From the corner of her eyes, at least. Rey had to stay focused. Which is why she was keeping her eyes up—up and away from her rival’s newly exposed skin, the golden lines of muscle that—

“Oh!” Rey gasped as Poe’s sword cut down the entire side of one of her pant legs, slicing the red silk so completely open that she had to abandon the garment entirely.

“Revenge at last,” he crooned. “You seemed a bit… _distracted_ , for a moment there, perhaps you’d be more comfortable if I—”

Poe froze and looked down to see his opponent’s sword suddenly denting into his chest. “You dare to question my abilities, Captain Dameron?” Rey asked, tilting her head at him.

“Perhaps,” he said, jumping backwards and holding his sword at the ready. “If you think you’re so good, why don’t you—”

Rey didn’t even give him time to finish as she rushed at him with a vengeance, bringing down her gold sword with astonishing speed and dexterity, Poe struggling to block her thrusts as they moved across the room, ducking behind platforms and climbing up on benches as they fought each other. At one point Poe knocked over an Old Republic vase and it shattered to the ground in pieces, but neither of them noticed.

They clashed again and again, the sound of their swords scraping together echoing throughout the room, spurring them on. By the time they reached the far end of the room they were beginning to grow exhausted, their battle reaching its inevitable conclusion. They fought closer together as they ran out of space to chase each other, and Rey could feel the Captain’s eyes on her bare legs as they fought, desire burning behind his gaze.

She tried to ignore it.

Rey didn’t notice until it was too late: her rival was using her own tactic against her, pushing her into the corner of the room so she couldn’t escape. She fought back until the last second, finally letting her sword fall out of her hand as Captain Dameron hovered over her with a smile.

“Shouldn’t have been so cocky,” he said, leaning over her, both of their eyes locked onto each other as they caught their breath.

“You’re one to talk.”

“At least I still have my pants on,” he teased, glancing down at her bare legs, and when he looked back up he had a look in his eyes that made Rey flush under his gaze, one that sent heat between her legs.

He slowly lifted up her hand and kissed it, glancing at her with a questioning look. “I know you said you didn’t want to do this anymore,” he panted. “But _god,_ sweetheart, watching you fight me like that just gets me so—”

Poe didn’t have to wait for an answer as Rey pulled him in by the back of his neck, crashing their lips together. He groaned in response, pinning her against the mirrored wall as they kissed roughly and desperately, Rey jumping up to wrap her bare legs around his waist. He eagerly sucked at her neck as she let out a soft moan, relishing the sensation of his new beard against her skin.

He moved back for a moment to pick up one of the swords, letting it graze against the fabric of her shirt, hovering right between her breasts. “May I?”

Rey nodded, and she watched with anticipation as he slowly cut the fabric down the middle, his eyes hungry at the sight of her breasts. He cut the rest of the shirt away with a single slice of his sword, dropping it with a clatter to pull Rey back into his arms again.

He kissed her feverishly as he led her back to the empty table behind them; sitting down and pulling Rey into his lap, turning her so they both faced the mirrored wall. She gasped as she caught sight of herself—their trysts sometimes felt like hallucinations, like they took place in some ethereal, unreachable world, but as she looked in the mirror there was no denying any of it. She was naked except for her panties; Poe in only his breeches, and she could tell from the gleam in his eyes that he was as astounded by the sight before them as she was.

Poe reached up and took her hair out of its usual ponytail, letting it cascade around her shoulders in waves. He ran his fingers through it softly, kissing her shoulder tenderly as she balanced on his leg. “Rey?”

“Yes?” she asked, and a small voice in the back of her mind was screaming _that’s the first time he’s used your name. Rey._

“Do you truly hate me? Would you really have me dead?”

She froze, shocked at the bluntness of his question. “Does it matter?”

“It matters to me,” he said, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, and the frightened look in his eyes somehow made her nervous.

“I know I was angry the other day,” Rey said. “But I could never—no, Poe, I wouldn’t.”

He smiled softly at her and brought his hand up to her cheek, turning her face towards the mirror. “Watch…” he whispered, and she gasped as he brought his hand down to squeeze at her breasts. “I want you to watch me touch you…I want you to see what I do to you…”

Rey looked in the mirror and sighed at the sight, watching as his hands teased and stroked along her skin, calloused and scarred from his long years of adventuring. “Look at us,” he said, bringing his hand down to touch where she needed him most. “Look how _good_ we look together.”

And _they did,_ Rey thought, watching their bodies wrapped around each other. She couldn’t look away.

She moaned, completely hypnotized, keeping her gaze fixed on the mirror as his fingers sped up. “ _Oh,_ just look at yourself” he groaned, his beard scratching roughly against her ear as he brought her to an eventual climax. “How I love being your one weakness…”

She kissed him then, wrapping her arms around him, feeling warm and delirious with how much she—

“I’ll be right back,” Poe whispered, and Rey groaned in frustration as he walked to the other side of the room. She was eager to return to the situation in his breeches that was beginning to make itself rather obvious.

She heard the sound of glass breaking in the distance and watched as Poe returned with a massive velvet robe, one so big he had to drag it behind him. He spread it out on the ground and smiled at her wickedly.

“Good idea,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him down to the floor with a laugh. The red velvet felt absolutely sinful against her skin, but nowhere near as sinful as the feeling of Poe’s entire body pressed against her, or the way he was looking at her—the way he was kissing her slowly, sweetly, like he wanted to memorize every inch of her skin.

It was…different, this time.

“How many thousands of credits do you think this robe is worth?” Rey giggled, running her fingers through the plush velvet.

“No idea,” Poe replied, chuckling. “But probably less once we’re through with it.”

Rey grinned and helped him remove his breeches, lying back down on the robe in anticipation. Captain Dameron’s eyes raked over her body, and he sighed as he lined himself up at her entrance, sinking in with a groan of relief.

He kissed her again and again as he started to move, his lips moving down her jaw and into the crook of her neck, and Rey groaned, bucking her hips against him, eager for more. She could see them in the mirrored ceiling above their heads and she watched, captivated, surprised at how _human_ they looked—two naked bodies writhing together, nature working its course—no one would ever guess at the complicated history between them.

“I’ve dreamed of this…” Poe sighed in her ear, moving one of his hands up to touch her cheek, his eyes glazed over with lust. “I always, always dream of this…so beautiful, so _clever_ , so good for me, oh _Rey…”_

These words sparked something inside of her—whether it was terror or excitement, she couldn’t quite tell, but she responded by sitting up, flipping them over so she was sitting in his lap riding him, a thousand mirrors across the room watching her sink up and down.

She kissed him.

She kissed him like she was starving for it, and maybe she was, all those weeks spent locked away hating him, not allowing herself to remember the magnetic pull she always felt in his presence, those witty conversations that she treasured for weeks afterward. And here she was giving into it, letting her guard down, letting him make her whimper and sigh and beg…

“We could do it, you know,” Poe said, looking up at her.

“Do what?”

“Join forces. Leave _Black One_ and the _Scavenger_ behind forever and build a new crew. We could plunder the Outer Rim by day and fuck all night…we could do this whenever we wanted…”

Rey was shocked at the audacity of his words, thinking he was playing some sort of elaborate joke on her, but when she met his eyes she saw he was completely serious. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not,” he said, and they both moaned, moving faster as they felt their climaxes approaching. “Look how much loot we got working together. If we joined forces we’d be _invincible,_ darling.”

“We can’t. You know as well as I do that there’s a million reasons why we can’t.”

“But imagine it,” Poe whispered as her second orgasm of the night washed over her, and she buried her head in his shoulder as the pleasure ran through her body. “You and me against the world…” he said, running his hands over her back as she cried out. “It’d be the most _glorious_ thing…”

Rey collapsed back down onto the lush softness of the robe, overwhelmed and sated, and Poe followed. He continued to move, kissing her softly and finishing a minute later, groaning as he spilled inside her.

“That was…”

“I know,” he gasped, and rested his forehead against hers. For a moment they were still, basking in each other’s warmth, and they stared at each other in astonishment, both of them knowing they had somehow taken a step they could never come back from. “Will you at least think about it?” he whispered.

Before Rey could answer there was the sound of a door banging open, and two guards burst into the room. They were so stunned by the sight before them—the dozens of broken display cases, the crown jewels and treasures of Coruscant missing or scattered about the room, and of course the naked couple embracing on their Queen’s coronation robe.

“Gentlemen,” Poe said, standing up completely naked and doing his best to cover Rey. “I’m sure there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?” The head guard shouted. “I know you. You’re Captain Dameron! The Scoundrel of Scarif! You’re robbing the museum!”

“And not only that,” the other one said, leering behind him at Rey. “He’s brought one of his whores in here with him.”

Rey was about to protest when Poe shot her look: _play along._

Poe chuckled. “A man can’t enjoy himself while he robs Coruscant of her treasures?”

“No,” the head guard said. “This is high treason.”

Poe picked up his old sword from the ground and tossed it in his hand. “I’m sure we can come to an arrangement.” He approached them slowly, backing them around the corner with his blade at their throats. At the last second, he turned around and winked at Rey.

_Run._

Rey slipped on Poe’s breeches and the tattered remains of her shirt, scurrying across the room and grabbing as many small and expensive-looking items as she could carry, stuffing them all into a satin bag she found within one of the displays. She rushed back to the tunnel, crawling as fast as she could through the dark until she found her way into the hallways and out the back entrance.

She rushed outside into the cool night air, running through the streets of Coruscant holding Poe’s breeches up with one hand and carrying her treasure in the other. Her feet pounded against the pavement as she made her way back to the ship, terrified of the moment she’d have to slow down, the moment she’d have to confront the one nagging realization that was racing through her head, potent as a drug and just as dangerous:

She was pretty sure Captain Poe Dameron was in love with her.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey grasped the final rung of the ladder and hoisted herself over the edge of the ship. Dawn was just breaking over Coruscant, and she’d made it back from her excursion just in time. A half an hour later and everyone would have been awake. She hadn’t got as much loot as she had hoped for, but the small purse of jewels was more than enough—and at least she hadn’t been caught. She still didn’t know how Poe had fared with those guards.

She didn’t even have time to catch her breath, darting below deck and making her way to her rooms before anyone—

“Hello, Captain.”

Rey froze. Kaydel Connix stood across from her with a grin plastered on her face.

“You were out late,” she said, her eyes roving over her body. She was barefoot, wearing the tattered remains of her own shirt and Captain Dameron’s breeches. “I must say, this isn’t quite up to par with your usual fashion.”

“I had business to attend to,” Rey said sharply.

“Hm,” Kaydel said, yanking the tiny satin bag away before Rey could stop her. She opened it up, peeking at the shimmering pile of jewels and treasures inside. “Tatooine flamegems? I’ve never even seen one of those in person. Must have been quite the high-stakes mission.”

She returned the bag, giving Rey one last unsettling look before she disappeared behind the corner.

Rey opened the door to her quarters with a deep sigh of relief, collapsing on the bed to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. She’d have to change, obviously. The ragged remains of her shirt fell right off her shoulders, and her mind flashed back to hours earlier, when Captain Dameron had sliced it clean down the middle with his sword, his eyes heavy with desire for her.

As she slipped out of his breeches (she blushed at the thought) and folded them neatly, she remembered how she’d helped Poe slip out of them, pulled him close to her where they’d fucked on that velvet robe before they’d been caught by those guards.

 _Fucking._ Except it wasn’t just fucking, this time, was it? At least not to him.

He’d looked at her differently, last night—touched her in a way that was slower, more deliberate—but absolutely just as electric. It wasn’t like their usual encounters, their rivalry and attraction culminating in a quick and thrilling release. It was…tender. His words echoed through her head, making her shiver:

_You and me against the world…it’d be the most glorious thing._

_I always, always dream of this…so beautiful, so clever, so good for me...Rey…_

_If we joined forces we’d be invincible, darling._

She stretched out on the bed and sighed. What an offer he’d made—and in a way he was right. They _were_ the two most skilled pirates in this part of the galaxy, after all. But it was more complicated than that. Rey’s crew was like her family, and it was likely that if she and Poe pulled a stunt like that both of their crews would be after them. The hatred between the crews of _Black One_ and the _Scavenger_ ran too deep for any kind of peaceful reconciliation.

Maybe he didn’t mean any of it. People were known to say all sorts of things when they were caught up in the throes of their pleasure, after all. How could he truly care about her? He loved the adrenaline of their meetings, the power trip he got from making his nemesis whimper and come apart for him. She’d be a fool to think it was anything more than that…

…but the way he’d _looked_ at her.

Perhaps it was some sort of trap. Captain Dameron probably wasn’t above manipulating her emotions for his own benefit. It would make sense that he was trying to make her soft—that he wanted her to put her guard down so he could get the better of her. That had to be it.

But the way he’d _kissed_ her…

She buried her head in her pillow, feeling completely restless. She didn’t know what to think or what to feel right now. She just wanted answers.

And more than anything, she wanted to see Poe Dameron again.

***

Rey went up on deck for lunch, finding her crew gathered around their usual table. Finn and Rose had made a run down into the city, bringing back boxes of food and the daily newspapers. They had a beautiful view of Coruscant as they ate, the city spread out and glittering below them as the ship floated idly above it. Everyone looked happy, eating and laughing as the sun warmed the deck.

With the exception of Kaydel.

She looked a little… _too_ happy. She stood in the corner away from the rest of the crew, staring smugly at Rey as if she were just waiting for her to trip and fall through the floor.

“I got your favorite,” Rose said, passing her a box. “Extra sauce.”

“Thanks,” Rey said, taking a seat at the table.

Finn picked up a newspaper and started to read as he bit into a ronto wrap. “Oh _man.”_

“What?” Rose asked.

“It seems like our old friend Captain Dameron pulled off quite the stunt last night.”

Kaydel smiled knowingly, folding her own newspaper behind her. “Did he now?”

“Yeah,” Finn said excitedly. “Listen to this: _The National Museum of Coruscant was robbed last night by none other than the infamous pirate, Captain Poe Dameron. Dameron was discovered in the basement of the museum last night in a compromising position with a female accomplice.”_

Rose burst out laughing. “He decided to have a quickie in the middle of a museum heist? _Really?_ ”

Kaydel’s eyes were locked onto Rey.

Finn continued reading: _“Authorities believe Dameron was able to infiltrate the museum because of the basement wing’s usual security personnel being delegated to last night’s annual gala. Many treasures are now missing from the museum, mostly jewelry and other small items. These included Corusca gem earrings, a priceless necklace made of diamonds and Tatooine flame gems, and a collection of signet rings belonging to various figures of the Old Republic. Both Dameron and his accomplice escaped into the night after being pursued by museum guards. The National Museum of Coruscant asks citizens to contact them if they have any information about the incident or Dameron’s whereabouts.”_

“I suppose that’s good news,” Rose said. “Maybe the authorities will take care of him for us.”

Finn glanced over the article again. “I just want to know who this woman is. Accomplice? Compromising position? Must be quite a lady.”

“To be low enough to screw that guy in the middle of a museum?” Rose scoffed. “I’ll say.”

Rey shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“I don’t know what’s worse,” Finn said. “Being caught robbing a museum or being caught in the arms of the Scoundrel of Scarif himself.”

Rose grinned. “It’s quite the scandal. Can you imagine? You’re some innocent Coruscant girl and all of a sudden you’re swept up in the intrigues of a pirate!?”

Kaydel smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Poor thing.”

***

_Poe was in her bed, tracing his fingers across her skin, over the swells of her breasts and the soft skin on the inside of her thigh. “I miss you,” he whispered as he teased her. “All I can think about is when I’ll get to see you again.”_

_“I don’t believe you,” she said. “I’m not a fool, Poe.”_

_“How will you know if you don’t try believing me?” he asked, kissing down her neck. “I think you’re just as addicted to me as I am to you, sweetheart.”_

_“It’s too dangerous,” Rey said. “I could lose everything.”_

_“And who loves danger more than a pirate, eh?” he said, smiling as he kissed his way down to where she ached for him. “Let’s dive into it together. Risk everything. It’ll be such fun, dearest.”_

_He put his tongue to her and she groaned, her back arching off the mattress. “You’re not being sensible about this,” she gasped out._

_“But I know you’ve been thinking about it,” he said. “I think you’re more entranced with the idea than you’re willing to admit.”_

_“I am not, I—” she let out a gasp as he worked his mouth faster._

_“You’ve been thinking about boarding ships with me, stealing mountains of treasure…the King and Queen of the sky—unstoppable and feared throughout the galaxy. You’ve been thinking about me taking you against the wall of a ship we’re in the middle of plundering, the long nights we’d have to explore each other undisturbed, oh hells, sweetheart, I—”_

There was someone knocking at the door.

Rey woke up sweating, her heart beating fast from the intensity of her dream. Damn that man for sneaking into her mind like that.

She sighed and rolled out of bed. She’d needed the sleep after such a distressing day, the aftermath of the heist and Kaydel’s uncomfortable glances. Usually only Finn disturbed her this late, and only if there was an issue with the navigation. It had better be important.

The second she unlocked the door, the person on the other side shoved it open.

It was Kaydel.

“Captain,” she said. She was wearing the smile of someone who knew she held all the right cards in her hands. “I thought we’d have a word.”

“It couldn’t wait until morning?”

“I think you might actually prefer if we had this conversation out of earshot.”

Rey’s stomach turned as Kaydel closed the door behind her. There was only one thing this could be about, but for some reason she was still holding out hope that she was wrong.

Kaydel was dressed up in tall boots and a black double-breasted silk coat, much like the ones Rey was fond of wearing. It made her feel small in only her nightgown—and she supposed that was the point.

“You know, I've had my suspicions for a while…” Kaydel said, circling the room like a hawk. “When you and Captain Dameron would emerge from below deck after those negotiations, your faces flushed, those giddy smiles hiding behind your sneers….and then of course that night when he escaped from the ship—that was when I knew. I had a lot of evidence, but no proof.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Give me a little credit, Skywalker,” Kaydel said, lifting up Rey’s chin with her finger and pouting.

Rey slapped her hand away. “Get out!” she seethed. “You have no right to disrespect your captain like this. I could have you—”

“Oh no you won’t,” Kaydel said, reaching into her coat pocket. “Because I have _this.”_

She held up the satin purse full of treasures from the museum heist. “A tiny bag of jewelry that exactly matches the description of what went missing from the museum. Isn’t that _interesting?_ How strange that you were gone that night, and now have these baubles in your possession. And Captain Dameron? Having his merry way with you in the middle of the museum?” She chuckled. “Naughty, _naughty_ Captain Skywalker.”

Rey stood silent, her mind frantically calculating an escape. “Kaydel, if you even think about turning me in to the authorities, I’ll—”

She just laughed, admiring one of the rings as she tried it on. “Heavens, no. I would never do something so _boring_.”

Rey stood resolute as Kaydel practically pranced around the room. “What do you want?” she snapped.

Kaydel smiled. “I want you to make me captain of this ship,” she said. “You hand over command to me, right now, or…” she jingled the bag of jewelry in her hands. “…I’ll tell our whole crew exactly who their arch rival’s silly little whore is.”

Rey stepped forward, her eyes a raging storm. “How dare you speak to me like that.”

Kaydel put a hand on her shoulder in a sickening display of mock sympathy. “How sweet that you still think you’re in charge.” She chuckled and sauntered out the door. “Your captain will see you in the morning, Rey.”


	7. Chapter 7

Rey woke up to the unfortunate sound of Kaydel’s voice echoing down the halls of the ship.

“Wake up! Everyone on deck!” she was shouting, banging on the walls and sounding far too pleased for her own good. “I have an important announcement to make!”

Rey groaned as she rolled out of bed, the conversation from last night coming over her like a wave of nausea: those awful taunts about her and Poe; the threats. It hadn’t been a dream, after all. But Rey didn’t have a choice—she had to relinquish control of the ship to Kaydel or risk having her crew kill her if they found out about what she and Poe had been doing all this time.

She wanted to scream.

Rey slipped on her best purple silk jacket and boots and placed her sword in its sheath. Even if she wasn’t Captain anymore, Kaydel couldn’t take her dignity. Not yet.

She walked up the stairs to see Kaydel standing on the wooden table, the crew gathered anxiously around her. They looked towards Rey, waiting for instruction.

She remained silent.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here at this hour,” Kaydel said, towering over the crew. “Rey, _dear_ , why don’t you tell them?”

She grimaced. “Wouldn’t you rather make the announcement?”

“No,” Kaydel stressed, bowing dramatically. “I _insist.”_

Rey sighed. “I’ve decided to retire, and I’ve relinquished control of the _Scavenger_ to Kaydel. She’s…she’s your captain now.”

Kaydel grinned. “That’s Captain Connix to you,” she said, twirling a knife between her fingers.

But the eyes of the crew weren’t on Connix at all—they were on Rey, all of them completely puzzled. Finn was watching her with a concerned expression.

“Of course, as Captain, I’ve decided what our new agenda is going to be,” she continued, smiling especially at Rey. “I figure since the Coruscant establishment is so keen to track down Captain Dameron, we should just do it ourselves. I’m sure there will be a hefty reward.”

“That’s insane,” Rose said. “No one has a clue where he is. It’d be a huge waste on our time and resources. We’d be much better off going plundering on our own. _Black One_ will be behind without Dameron anyway.”

“No,” Connix commanded. “We’re going after him.”

Rose was seething. “We can’t spend all our time seeking revenge we might not even get. It’d be far more profitable to continue—”

Kaydel leaned over Rose. “I’m your captain, Tico,” she snapped. “Don’t disrespect me again.”

Rose looked up at Connix with scorn. “You know when Rey was Captain, our decisions were a democratic effort—a discussion. She stood down here with us. We were a team. We were equals.”

Kaydel pulled her knife out from her belt and held it up to Roses’s face. The crew stood in shocked silence.

“If you say one more word against me, Tico?” she threatened. “I won’t hesitate to put this knife through you. Do you understand me?”

Rose took a step back, but her eyes were still locked onto Kaydel, still brimming over with fury. This wasn’t over.

“You can go back to your rooms now,” Captain Connix announced. “We’re setting course for Tatooine. It’s a favorite of Dameron’s and we might manage to find him there.”

The crew dispersed in a cloud of frantic whispering as everyone headed back below deck. Rey rushed into her room, ready to put her fist through the wall.

Finn walked in right behind her.

“Rey,” he said, shutting the door and coming after her. He sat down with her on the bed. “What the hell happened? What’s going on?”

She froze, looking down at where Finn was holding onto her hand. Finn was her best friend, her first mate, and her most trusted compatriot in all the world. Lying to him was already hacking away at her insides.

But how could she risk telling him? How far would his loyalty and friendship really go?

How could she know for sure?

“Um,” Rey said. “It’s true. I don’t want to be captain anymore. So I—”

“Bullshit,” Finn said. “We both know if you were really giving up command of the _Scavenger,_ Connix would be the last person you’d hand it over to.”

Rey hugged her knees, sitting quietly on the bed. She realized there was no way she could lie her way through this.

Finn’s eyes widened, leaning forward. “She has something on you, doesn’t she? You’re being blackmailed. That’s the only way any of this makes sense.”

Rey’s silence was all but a confirmation.

“Look,” he said. “We’re _pirates._ We all have things in our past. You know as well as I do that there’s multiple people on this ship who have killed people in cold blood. And you saw how the crew reacted to her up there—none of us want her in charge. We’re all on your side, Rey. We’ll fight this.”

“Thanks,” she replied flatly, staring at the wall.

“What is it she’s threatening you with?” he asked, squeezing her hand. “You can trust me. It can’t be as bad as half the things I’ve done.”

She was silent.

“You kill someone? Several someones? Burned a ship down? Whatever it is, Rey, I’m okay with it. You can tell me.”

She let go of Finn’s hand. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Finn. I need you to believe that. But I’m not ready. I’m afraid that if you hear this you won’t…”

“I won’t what?”

“I’m afraid you’ll hate me. And that’s something I could never live with.”

Finn pulled her into a hug. “I could never hate you, okay?” Rey felt tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to tell him. She really did. But—

“We’ll figure something out,” Finn said. “Rose and I will see if we can come up with a plan. Don’t give up hope just yet—you’ve earned the loyalty of this crew, Rey. Most of these people have your back. I know they do.”

Rey smiled at Finn through her tears as he stood up and walked through the door. What kind of friend was she to him, and what kind of captain to her crew, to keep such a horrid secret? The guilt was plaguing her now more than ever.

But right now all she could hear was Poe’s voice, the memory of him teasing her as he stared up at her with those pretty dark eyes… _wouldn’t your crew love to know how their precious, noble Captain loves to be fucked and pleasured by their very worst enemy…what a riot that would start._

***

Tatooine was no stranger to pirate ships.

It was no stranger to scum and villainy, either, and the crew of the _Scavenger_ felt right at home as they stopped the ship near a spaceport the next morning and climbed down the ladder onto the sandy ground.

The last twenty-four hours had been no friend to Rey. She’d spent most of the day stewing alone in her room as Kaydel set their course towards Tatooine. All she could do was hope that Poe wasn’t there and that things wouldn’t get even more out of control than they already were.

Rey walked into Mos Eisley the next morning with a sense of relief. It felt good just to be off the ship for a while, to be alone with her thoughts and away from the chaos that had unfolded. Kaydel had only given them one instruction: to scour the spaceport for any trace of Poe Dameron. The captain in Rey knew the day would have been much better spent making contacts and getting ahold of the latest news of the criminal underworld, but it wasn’t up to her anymore.

She spent the day wandering around on her own, buying some new supplies from vendors and getting a much needed drink at a sorry-looking cantina whose band only knew one song. She was already dreading getting back on the ship and listening to Kaydel’s nonsense, to have to see the sorry looks on her friends’ faces as they watched her pass by. She was sick of it—but it was growing dark. It was time to head back to the ship for the night.

When Rey got back most of her crew were gathered at the table on deck, sitting around Kaydel and a figure she had never seen before.

It was a Mandalorian.

“Rey,” Kaydel said, watching her with a smile. “I’d like you to meet a new friend of mine.” She gestured over to the Mandalorian, who sat sulking in his grimy gray beskar. “I’ve hired him to do a job for us.”

“Oh,” Rey replied. She had a bad feeling she knew where this was going.

“He’s going to hunt Dameron down for us and kill him,” Kaydel said, and some of the crew cheered behind her. “Isn’t that grand? You don’t have a problem with that, do you Rey?”

“No,” she answered. Kaydel was smirking at her in a way that made Rey want to reach for her sword.

The Mandalorian sat quietly at the table, a silent threat who looked out of place among the rest of the ragtag crew. Rey didn’t know much about his kind, but she did know that they were not to be messed with: if one of their bounty hunters was after Poe, he could be as good as dead.

She had to warn him—but she didn’t know where he was any more than Kaydel did.

Rey walked over to the edge of the ship and watched the twin suns set over Tatooine. She had an uneasy feeling about this Mandalorian being on the ship. She didn’t like breathing the same air as someone who might eventually kill Poe. The idea of Kaydel having a Mandalorian doing her bidding was uncomfortable enough—she could even turn out to be his next target.

Rey turned around to see the Mandalorian’s helmet turned towards her, watching. She didn’t like this bounty hunter being here—she didn’t like it at all. Even behind the mask she could feel his eyes on her, watching her every move.

She was going to have to be careful.

***

Rey slept uneasily that night.

Not that restlessness was anything new to her these days. Since the drama with Kaydel Connix started, she’d harbored many a nightmare about the woman sneaking up on her in the night. It was no wonder that she kept her sword next to her nightstand.

By the time her pocket watch read two a.m., Rey had finally started to drift in and out of a restless sleep. Even her exhaustion from spending the day in the Tatooine sun couldn’t compete with the litany of anxious thoughts that kept her awake. Just as she thought she was finally about to fade away, she noticed a movement from the corner of her room.

There was someone standing behind her desk.

She sat up and grabbed her sword, just able to make out an outline of someone waiting in the shadows.

Beskar. Kaydel had sent her Mandalorian after her.

“I’ve heard things about the Mandalorians,” Rey said, taking a moment to light a candle. “Your fighting abilities are apparently unmatched.”

He stood quiet, Rey stepping closer and closer in her nightgown, sword at the ready. “I know she’s sent you here to kill me,” Rey threatened. “But I warn you, there are few men who find mercy at the end of my sword.”

A modulated chuckle came from behind the mask, one that sent goosebumps down her spine. She stood stunned as the Mandalorian reached his hands up to lift off his helmet, shaking out a familiar head of dark curls.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Poe grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this chapter came about when I was playing with my legos: I stuck the Mando helmet on Christmas Poe and all of a sudden I was like :o


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a bonus pic of the legos that inspired Mando!Poe :)

“Hello, sweetheart,” Poe grinned, lifting up his helmet.

Rey froze, her breath catching as his eyes locked onto hers. “You…how…”

“Well,” Poe said, placing the beskar helmet on her desk. “I will admit this is one of my more… _ambitious_ ideas, but it hasn’t gone wrong yet.”

Rey shook her head, stunned. “So Kaydel seriously hired you…to kill _yourself?”_

“She’s not too bright, that one,” he said. He’d shaved his beard since their last encounter, but the familiar stubble was already spotting his cheeks. “Certainly not as bright as you.”

Rey looked down to the floor in shame.

“So why _is_ she the captain now?” Poe asked. “You’re smarter, a better swordswoman, your crew adores you, I don’t understand how—”

She was still silent, staring at her feet.

“Rey—”

“She found out about us,” Rey stuttered out. “After the Coruscant Museum, she put it together and blackmailed me.”

“Oh,” Poe said. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

“You should be.”

“Sweetheart—”

“No,” Rey said, rushing over to him. “Don’t you dare.”

“Don’t what?”

“Be all…all _you_ about this. With the…” she wrung her hands together. “…the charm and the pet names and the twinkle in your eye. I’m so damn _tired_ of ruining myself every time you walk into a room!”

Poe looked to the floor. “I can leave…if you want.”

“No,” Rey said. “I don’t think I could ever get the words out of my mouth.”

There was a long silence as they thought over what to say next, until Rey finally spoke up.

“Where’d you get the armor?”

“It’s a loan,” Poe answered. “I paid the school tuition for this guy’s kid in exchange.”

“I see,” Rey said. “You know Kaydel’s focused all our energies towards killing you, right?”

“So I heard up on deck,” he laughed. “That’s why I’m hiding in plain sight.”

Rey sat down on top of her desk, picking up the beskar helmet and weighing it in her hands. She could feel Poe’s gaze on her as she swung her legs, bare and peeking out from under her nightgown.

“I’ll never forget the first time you looked at me from across this desk, you know,” she mused with a smile.

“No?”

“Never,” she said. “We were having a fight over one of the trade routes, and we kept inching closer and closer, and I looked into your eyes and—I could tell.”

Poe grinned, leaning against the wall in his armor. “Tell what?”

“Tell that you wanted me,” she said, crossing her legs together. “That you were thinking about what it would be like to have me against the desk…”

“Oh really?” he asked. “How could you tell?”

“Because before that first time, before any of that ever happened…I used to fantasize about such things. I knew what lust would look like in your eyes.”

Poe smirked at her as he walked over, standing across from her as she sat perched on the desk. “Back when we were nothing but sworn rivals, you used to…?”

“Yes,” Rey said, running her fingers across the cool metal of his chest plate. “Even back when we were _really_ trying to kill each other…I could never deny that you were…” she giggled. “Very pretty to look at.”

Poe placed a hand on her cheek. “I always thought you were very beautiful myself…that if you were to kill me your face would be lovely to gaze upon as I passed into another world…” he whispered, smiling into her neck.

“Such _poetry,_ Captain Dameron.”

“Now,” he said, giving her a cheeky smile. “Why don’t you tell me what you used to fantasize about…back before all this…”

“Hmm…” she said. “So many things…”

“ _Tell me…”_

“Now, now, Captain, those are _my_ secrets…” Rey teased. “But generally you tearing my clothes off one way or another. And speaking of which…” she whispered. “I’m not too attached to this nightgown, in case you were wondering.”

Poe’s eyes widened. “We don’t have much time,” he said, taking them out of the moment. “I need to be off the ship in half an hour, and it takes about that long to get this armor off and on again.”

“Oh,” Rey said. “Well—”

“I guess we’ll just have to take care of you then,” he smiled. “If you want. I know you said you’re tired of—”

“I’m not,” she said, gazing up at him intently. “I’ve ruined everything but—I’d do it again, Poe. I would.”

Poe took her face in his hands, his lips inches away from her. “But your ship, your reputation…”

“I have nothing left to lose anymore,” she whispered. “The only thing I have left to live for are these sins I keep committing with you.”

“ _Rey.”_

He brought his lips down to hers, kissing her deeply, his mouth warm and demanding as he tangled his fingers through her hair. Rey wrapped her bare legs around him, pulling him closer to the desk, and she shuddered at the feeling of cold beskar against her thighs.

Poe lifted up her chin with a single finger and grinned. “Not attached to this nightgown, huh?” he asked, running a leather-gloved hand up her leg. “Shall we get rid of it?”

“Please,” Rey sighed.

She watched as Poe took hold of the bodice of her nightgown, making a deliberate show of slowly ripping it down the front, the lace and cotton in shreds. She slipped off the remnants, leaving her completely bare before him on the desk. His pupils went dark.

“ _Fuck,”_ he whispered, moving in to suck on her neck. “I can never get past how beautiful you are, sweetheart.” Rey let out a soft moan as he kissed his way down her neck and torso, lavishing each of her breasts in attention before coming back up to kiss her again.

He pressed the full length of his body against her as they embraced, the metal of the armor cold and hard against her bare skin. She gasped, her nipples hardening at the contact. _“Oh,”_ he whispered. “You _like_ that, huh?”

Poe picked her up and hoisted her up against the wall, his thigh pressed between her legs. She ground against it, moaning as Poe continued to kiss her fervently, his hands grasping at her waist.

“ _Captain Dameron_ …”

“So very, very desperate for me,” Poe teased. “I’m going to have to wash this armor before I give it back, you know…” He smiled, pressing a single kiss on her nose. “Go lie down on the desk.”

Rey stumbled forward from the wall, heady and warm under his gaze. She laid down across the wooden surface of the desk, nearly trembling in anticipation as Poe circled around her, the light from the lamp on the wall putting her on full display.

He placed a gentle hand on her head and trailed it down, his leather and metal gloved fingers grazing the delicate tendons of her neck, the small peaks of her breasts, lingering over the curves of her hips and down her legs. He massaged her and kissed her, worshipping her body with gentle touches in every place except where she needed it most.

“Are you enjoying yourself, darling?” he soothed.

“I need you to touch me.”

He laughed. “I _am_ touching you.”

Rey sat up, fury and lust brimming in her eyes. “You’re an insufferable tease.”

“I simply asked you to be more specific. Besides, I’m not allowed to take my pants off, so I’m a bit jealous. Might be taking it out on you; a little bit.” He shrugged. “I think we’re done here.”

“ _Please—”_

Poe smirked. “I still can’t believe you fantasized about me before this started happening,” he winked. “You bad, bad girl. I suppose I’ll just have to leave you hanging.”

“ _Poe—_ ”

“Okay then,” he bartered. “Tell me one of those fantasies you kept secret, Captain.”

“I’m not Captain anymore, I’m—”

“You’re _my_ Captain, okay Skywalker?” he said, kissing her tenderly. “Always.”

Rey smiled. “Very well,” she said. She stood up and walked over to her wardrobe, slipping on a magenta gown with a huge, billowing skirt.

“You know,” Poe joked, his eyes curious. “Most of my fantasies involved you wearing a little bit less than that.”

“Trust me, dear,” Rey said, stroking a hand down his forearm.

Poe shivered. _This woman and her surprises…oh, how he adored her._

Rey took a seat in her desk chair and motioned for Poe to sit across from her, as he did during all of their negotiations, back in the days before they’d known each other’s touch.

“I used to imagine,” Rey confided. “That you’d gotten particularly desperate during a negotiation. So desperate that you’d be willing to…” she smiled. “Climb under my skirts.”

“I see,” Poe said. His eyes sparkled for a second, and then feigned desperation. “Captain Skywalker…I need the territory between Mustafar and Tatooine. Please.”

“I’m afraid not, Captain Dameron.”

“I’m begging you.”

Rey shook her head. “There’s absolutely nothing you could do to convince me.”

There was a silence as Poe pretended to think over his options.

“I know you fantasize about me,” he said, cockily raising an eyebrow. “I see the way you look at me.”

Rey broke out into laughter. “How absurd. You know I despise you.”

“But we both know you’re _lying,_ dearest.” Poe stood up and walked behind her desk, kneeling at her feet. “And I really mean it when I say I’ll do _anything_ for that territory, you know.”

“How very sad.”

He rested his head on her knees, breaking character for a minute to let out a giggle. “ _Anything,_ Captain Skywalker,” he said, reaching under her skirts to smooth his hands across her legs. “Let me make you feel good,” he pleaded.

Rey shrugged, pretending indifference. “If you really want to, Captain, I suppose I’ll allow it.”

Poe kissed his way up her inner thighs, his stubble rough against her skin, and she gasped. “You’ll be a writhing mess by the time I’m finished with you,” he whispered, muffled under the fabric. “You’ll be screaming out my name…”

Rey cried out as she felt his tongue and mouth go to work, gripping the arms of her chair as she felt the pleasure build. She was glad that their conversation had ended up here—she didn’t want to think too hard about Poe right now. Her heart had been trapped between those moments of passion at the museum and the devastation she’d felt at Kaydel stealing her ship. It was a relief to lose herself in the sex. These days she went from wanting to fall into Poe’s arms to wanting to run a sword through his heart and back again. It was too early to decide.

“Oh!” Rey whispered under her breath. “Shit! Shit!”

“You like that, darling? I bet you’re—”

“No! Poe! The door!”

Rey slid her chair close against the desk, Poe still hiding underneath her skirt. She felt her heart drumming as she watched the wooden doorknob turn.

Finn.

“Hey,” he said, walking in. “I thought I heard something, so I came to check in on you.”

“I’m fine,” Rey said, sitting as casually as she could. She could feel Poe’s breath on her thighs. “I’m just up late working.”

“There’s no paperwork in front of you, just a—is that a Mandalorian helmet? Did you take it from that guy Kaydel hired?”

“Yeah,” Rey said. “Just wanted to, um. Look it over.”

Finn sighed, pacing around the room. “You keep acting strange, Rey,” he said. “And I’ve believed you, when you said you were fine, but sometimes I just—”

Rey suppressed a gasp as she felt Poe’s tongue on her again, moving in warm tight circles as she gripped the sides of the chair. _Captain Dameron, you smug bastard…you absolute—_

“I’ve told you time and time again, Rey,” Finn said. “I don’t care what secrets you have. I’m just worried about you. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

She could feel her climax approaching and bit down on her lip.

Definitely not okay.

Rey put her arms on her desk and buried her face in them, feigning distress as she hid her face from view, the pleasure washing over her. She could feel Poe smiling against her thigh. _You’re gonna get us killed, you absolute piece of—_

“Rey…?” Finn asked, a suspicious expression on his face. “Can you come over here?”

“Why?”

“Just walk over here.”

“I can’t, my back is killing me and—”

“Rey,” Finn said, deadly serious. “Is someone under your desk?”

“No, don’t be—”

“Oh, enough of this,” Poe said, flipping up Rey’s skirts and coming out from hiding, his face a flushed mess. “You’re a terrible liar, sweetheart.”

Finn stepped back, his eyes wide. “I—I—don’t…”

“It’s very simple,” Poe announced, smirking at Finn. “I’ve been warming your Captain’s bed for months now. And she can’t get enough of me.”

Rey rolled her eyes.

“Wait,” Finn said. “You’re the Mandalorian Kaydel hired to kill you?”

Poe laughed. “Nice, huh?”

“And— _ohhhh,_ ” Finn realized. “It all makes sense now. Kaydel must have found out and then—”

“She blackmailed me,” Rey said. “Yes.”

Finn stopped, taking a few moments to process, his hand hovering over the hilt of his sword. His eyes didn’t leave Poe, but Rey could tell he sensed the camaraderie between the two captains, and therefore made no move to attack. “I’d like to talk to Rey alone,” he said.

“Very well,” Poe said, giving Rey a kind look before putting the beskar helmet back on. He walked out the door; and then it was just her and Finn.

“So,” Finn said. “Captain _Dameron!?_ ”

Rey felt her face flush. “Yes.”

“How long?”

“Since the negotiations last spring.”

Finn laughed. “He must be _good.”_

“What?”

“It must be pretty good sex for you to keep risking this…given all the consequences.”

Rey sighed, staring down at her feet, and then Finn’s expression changed.

“Oh my god,” he said. “It’s more than just sex, isn’t it?”

Rey paced around the room, holding her head in her hands. “It started out that way but I don’t…I don’t _know.”_

“This is quite the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

She paused, wiping away a tear. “Do you hate me, Finn?”

“No, hey,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing it affectionately. “Of course not. I’ll admit it’s…pretty shocking, but we’ll figure this out. My friendship with you means more than any hatred I thought I had for anybody else, okay?”

“And will you keep the secret? About Poe being in the armor? Otherwise Kaydel will—”

“The secret’s safe with me,” Finn said. “I promise.”

Rey rushed over into Finn’s arms, letting him hold her as she caught her breath. “Finn?” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“I think I—I do love him. And you have no idea how much I hate myself for it.”


End file.
